Butternut Squash & Ginger Soup

Soup is one of my all time favorite "go to" dishes. It is super easy to make, clean up is a breeze, and you can make tons and freeze it for later. And soup is one of those dishes that just gets better tasting with age.

Oh, and it's healthy. Which works really well with my current "detox." Yes, it's true. I am detoxing. After moving across the world and enjoying many welcome home meals (and drinks) with family and friends, it is time to kick my body back into perfect functioning order. And that means a 14 day detox.  Now, I am not really one for diets and stuff like that, but this detox isn't a diet. It is supplying the body with whole, natural, easy to digest ingredients to allow the body to shift it's focus from digestion to a little internal clean up.

So, what does it mean? Well, in essence it means no salt, sugar, wheat, dairy (except yogurt), meat, poultry, alcohol, caffeine, or anything processed. And to be honest, the hardest part? Giving up coffee. I love the smell and the taste in the morning. And yes, I guess I could drink decaf, but I figure, if I am going to give it up, I might as well go all the way.

Okay, so back to soup. I wanted a soup that was healthy but also creamy and delicious. So, I chose butternut squash.

Butternut squash makes an incredibly delicious, creamy soup. When it is pureed, it becomes creamy and decadent and acts as a thickener. Now, since I am detoxing, I didn't use any salt in this recipe and I used water instead of stock. Of course, if you are not detoxing, you could use stock, or even if you are detoxing, you could make your own stock without salt. But I find water works just fine.

I also added a few other elements to make the soup flavorful and interesting. Ginger adds some heat, the honey complements the natural sweetness of the squash, and some herbs, just to give some flavor.

To be honest, this soup tasted fantastic. Detox or no detox. I would eat it anyday!

Butternut Squash & Ginger Soup

Makes about 8 cups

1 tbsp Canola Oil

4 cloves Garlic, minced

2 tbsp Fresh Ginger, chopped

1 large Onion, chopped

3 large stalks Celery, chopped

3 Carrots, chopped

1 Butternut Squash, seeded and cut into cubes

1 1/2 tbsp Italian Herbs

1 Bay Leaf

Water

1 tbsp Honey

Cracked Black Pepper to taste

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, ginger, onions, celery, carrots and cook until they start to soften, about 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the butternut squash, Italian herbs, and bay leaf. Cook for another 5 minutes.

Add enough water to the pot to cover all the vegetables. Cover and cook for about 45 minutes, until all the veggies are soft.

Puree the soup using an immersion blender (or a regular blender). Stir in the honey and season with cracked pepper to taste.

More Tea Party Ideas: Greek Skewers & Mexican Taco Cups

On the topic of tea parties, here are a few other great tea party ideas. Of course, like the BBQ Chicken Pitas with Zesty Slaw earlier, they could also be used as creative starters for a dinner party, a light and fun lunch or appetizers before a party! They are so versatile and look great! Plus, a lot of the components can be made ahead.

These are fun, colorful dishes that can be made for 4 people or 40 people. So try them at your next social get together and let me know what you think!

Greek Skewers

Makes as many as you want

Feta Cheese

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Oregano

Kalamata Olives

Cucumber, cut into about 2 cm cubes

Cherry Tomatoes

Red Onion, cut into about 2 cm pieces

Wooden Skewers, soaked for about 10 minutes (I think it helps everything slide on better, but not mandatory)

In a bowl, mix the olive oil and oregano. Cut the feta cheese into about 2 cm cubes. Toss in the olive oil and oregano.

Then just assemble the skewers... Cherry tomato, red onion, olive, feta, cucumber, tomato. Simple, tasty, and good looking!

Mexican Taco Cups

Make a few or a lot!

Ground Beef

Chili Powder

Ground Cumin

Salt and Pepper

Romaine Lettuce, Shredded

Salsa

Sour Cream

Guacamole (homemade or pre-made)

Cherry tomatoes, sliced

Cheddar Cheese, grated

Tostidos "Scoops" Tortilla Chips

Heat a pan over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and season with chili powder and cumin (about 1 tsp of each for each 250grams of meat). Cook until there is no pink left and season to taste with salt and pepper. Let cool.

In a bowl, mix together equal parts of sour cream, salsa and guacamole (1/3 cup of each should be more than enough to start).

Assemble the cups: put about 1/2 teaspoon of ground beef mixture on the bottom of the tostido cup. Top with about 1/2 teaspoon of the sour cream mixture. Then add a little grated cheese, shredded lettuce, and top with a slice of cherry tomato.

These are best eaten immediately. The longer then sit, the tortilla chip becomes a little soggy.

Tea Party Ideas: BBQ Chicken Pitas with Zesty Cabbage Slaw

Tea Parties. Elegant parties with elegant little food. Cucumber sandwiches, smoked salmon rolls, petit fours and the like, right? Well, not in my book.

After all, who says that tea parties have to follow the "rules" when it comes to food? In my eyes, a tea party is a chance for people to get together, drink tea, perhaps champagne, and enjoy "little" food..... and by that, I simply refer to food that can be eaten while drinking tea.

So, this weekend was my sister's bridal shower. And it was a tea party.  So of course, food was an extremely important component. The question is, are all the traditions of a tea party really necessary?

Tea parties staples are in fact, just a suggestion, but they are not a requirement. It is not mandatory to adorn the table with perfect little cheddar sandwiches, deviled eggs, and fruit tartlets. This is a an opportunity to create an interesting spread of finger foods. Of course, details are everything. They need to look good and taste fantastic.

The first item on the menu were these BBQ Chicken Pitas with Zesty Cabbage Slaw. Definitely not the traditional tea party food, but colorful, comforting and just really delicious. They were a hit!

BBQ Chicken Pita with Zesty Cabbage Slaw

Makes a lot of little pitas (or you could just pile it onto a rolls and eat it yourself for lunch!)

For the Chicken

2 kg Whole Chicken Legs, bone in, skin on

Paprika

Salt and Pepper

For the BBQ Sauce

2 tbsp Canola Oil

1/2 Onion, chopped

4 Cloves Garlic, minced

1 tsp Dried Thyme

1 tsp Dried Rosemary

1 1/2 tsp Ground Cumin

1/2 tsp Ground Cloves

2 tsp Paprika

1 Bay Leaf

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Black Pepper

2/3 cup Water

1/2 Orange, zest and juice

2 cups Plain BBQ Sauce (bottled)

For the Slaw

1 Head Cabbage, shredded (green, purple, or mixed)

1/2 Red Onion, thinly sliced

1/2 cup Raisins

For the Slaw Dressing

Juice of 1/2 Orange

Juice 1/2 Lime

2 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar

1/2 tsp Sugar

1 tbsp Dijon Mustard

1 tbsp Ginger, minced

1 small Red Chili, seeded and chopped

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/4 cup Plain Yogurt

Pita Bread (you could also use bread rolls or whatever bread you like)

For the Chicken

Generously season all sides of the chicken legs with salt, pepper and paprika. Place on a foil lined baking sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 1 hour or until cooked through and the juices run clear. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Once cooled remove the skin and discard. Then shred or pull the chicken into small pieces and set aside.

For the BBQ Sauce

This is a really great way to make your own custom BBQ sauce. It really brings some additional great flavors to the table without needing to do everything from scratch.

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook until translucent, about 5-8 minutes. Stir in all the spices. Then add the water, orange juice and zest, and BBQ sauce. Reduce the heat to medium low and let the BBQ sauce cook for about 45 minutes. This allows the flavors to meld together and the mixture to reduce a little.  After 45 minutes, remove the bay leaf.

Pour the BBQ sauce over the shredded chicken. Mix well and set aside.

For the Zesty Slaw

In a large bowl, add the orange and lime juices, red wine vinegar and sugar. Whisk until the sugar dissolves. Whisk in the dijon, ginger and chili. Then add the olive oil and yogurt and mix until smooth and creamy looking.  Add the cabbage, onions and raisins and toss with the dressing. Set aside.

To Prepare the Pitas

Cut each pita into triangles (I cut each pita into about 8 triangles). Top with a little slaw (make sure each portion has a few raisins), then the BBQ chicken. Enjoy!

Blueberry Muffins

I am always searching for great, easy muffin recipes. My criteria? Great flavor and texture, fairly healthy and not too sweet. This way they can be eaten for breakfast, a snack, or even a guilt free dessert!

And blueberry muffins just happen to be one of my favorites. But with so many recipes out there, it is always difficult to choose the right one. So, I combined elements from many recipes that sparked my interest and this was the result.

These blueberry muffins fit the bill perfectly! Despite the oats and whole wheat flour which can usually make muffins pretty dense, these ones have a really nice soft texture because of the yogurt and buttermilk. They are a perfect sweetness for me with just 1/2 cup of honey, but if you like your muffins sweeter, you could add another 1/4 cup.

Make a big batch and share them, freeze them, or eat them all yourself... I will leave that up to you!

Blueberry Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

Wet Ingredients:

2 Eggs

1/3 cup Canola Oil

1/2 cup Honey

1 1/4 cup Plain Yogurt (I used low fat, but you could use whatever kind you have)

1/3 cup Buttermilk

1 tbsp Orange Zest

Dry Ingredients:

1 cup Whole Wheat Flour

1 cup White Flour

1/2 cup Old Fashioned Oats

2 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Salt

1 1/2 cup Frozen Blueberries

1 tbsp Flour

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease or line a muffin tin and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix together all dry ingredients. Add the dry to the wet, stirring until just mixed. Toss the frozen blueberries in the tablespoon of flour and stir into the mixture immediately.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin tin, filling each cup just over 3/4 full. Bake for about 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Surprisingly Delicious Lentil Cookies

One of my favorite things to do is to watch cooking shows. So it is no surprise that while at the gym, my headset is plugged in and I am watching the food network. Yup, there I am, sweating away while watching some great chefs make amazing food. I have had more than one person look at me with confusion, I have had a couple people working out next to me become fixated on the images flashing across my screen, and I have even had some flat out comments like "how can you watch that while you are working out?" or "Why are you tempting yourself?"

And my answer? I just love it. It is not a bad thing to have a good relationship with food. In fact, it's healthy. Perhaps if we just indulge ourselves watching it, food would not always be on our minds as a negative thing, causing unnecessary binges and guilt.

Anyway, I have a great relationship with food, and food network is my workout buddy. In fact, I do my best thinking while working out. Today, however, a great recipe was just handed to me. No thinking required. The Spice Goddess came on TV and made lentil cookies.

Seriously? Lentil Cookies? Could they be any good? With barely any flour, how would they stick together? My curiosity was peaked and I just had to make them immediately.

 

I did very slightly alter the recipe by substituting 1/2 cup mashed banana for some of the butter and adjusting the quantities of sugar and chocolate chips. But other than that, I kept the recipe pretty much the same.

The result? TO DIE FOR!!! No joke. They were delicious, moist, hearty but not super dense as I imagined. Just fantastic. And my husband could not stop eating them! They are perhaps the best cookies I have had in a long time and I would love you to try them and let me know if you feel the same...

Surprisingly Delicious Lentil Cookies

Slightly modified from the Spice Goddess' Recipe (Bal Arneson)

Makes 24 cookies

1/2 cup Margarine (or Butter), room temperature

3/4 cup Brown Sugar

1/2 cup Banana, extremely ripe and mashed

1 cup Cooked Green Lentils, crushed with a fork

1 Egg

1 tsp Vanilla

1 cup Whole Wheat Flour

1 cup Old Fashioned Oats

1 tsp Baking Soda

3/4 cup Slivered Almonds

1 cup Pumpkin Seeds

3/4 cup Mini Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a cookie sheet or line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a bowl, cream together the margarine and brown sugar. Blend in the mashed banana, the crushed lentils, the egg, and the vanilla. Add the flour, oats and baking soda and stir until everything is combined. Fold in the almonds, seeds and chocolate chips.

Drop the cookies by the spoonful onto the prepared baking sheet and flatten. Bake the cookies for 15 to 18 minutes and allow to cool on a baking rack.