Wow it's Time!

....for the winter staples. I went to the store and found that the summer produce is gone and the winter produce has taken over. The squash soup is great, but variety is the spice of life! Try this for a side dish or inexpensive lunch or dinner.This recipe freezes well for later menus. I usually purchase the Garam Masala at World Market, but if you are adventurous, try the recipe below the soup recipe to prepare this Indian staple. Let me know how it goes.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

1 ounce butter
1 onions, finely sliced
1 carrots, finely sliced
1 stalk celery, finely sliced
1 -2 head broccoli
4 cups chicken stock
3/4 cup milk or 1 can evaporated milk
1 t garam masala
salt and pepper as desired
Directions:
Melt butter in saucepan, add onion, carrot and celery.
Saute gently until soft, about 4 minutes.
Trim the woody ends of the stalk and peel.
Roughly cut up heads and remaining stalk.
Add broccoli to pan with chicken stock, milk.
Season with spices.
Bring to a boil, cover and simmer 25 minutes.
When broccoli is tender, transfer vegies to a blender or use immersion blender.
Blend on high until all ingredients are smooth.
Return mixture to saucepan.
Heat until lightly boiling and thickened.


Garam Masala

4 tbsps coriander seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 ½ tsps black cumin seeds (shahjeera)
1 ½ tsps dry ginger
¾ tsp black cardamom (3-4 large pods approx)
¾ tsp cloves
¾ tsp cinnamon (2 X 1” pieces)
¾ tsp crushed bay leaves
Preparation:
Heat a heavy skillet on a medium flame and gently roast all ingredients (leave cardamom in its pods till later) except the dry ginger, till they turn a few shades darker. Stir occasionally. Do not be tempted to speed up the process by turning up the heat as the spices will burn on the outside and remain raw on the inside.
When the spices are roasted turn off the heat and allow them to cool.
Once cooled, remove the cardamom seeds from their skins and mix them back with all the other roasted spices.
Grind them all together, to a fine powder in a clean, dry coffee grinder.
Store in an air-tight container in a cool, dark place.

It's 5:30 and no dinner!

Sometimes this happens to me, even though I have meals in the freezer. Fortunately, I also usually put some cooked meat in the freezer for days such as tonight. Between all morning with my Mom at the Dr., then helping a friend...ok, we were mostly visiting, but we did accomplish an important task, then transporting my daughter from school to home, I was finally free at 5:30 to cook! Here's what I came up with:

Chicken and Vegetable Soup
2 C cooked diced chicken (found in freezer)
2 Quarts frozen Chicken Broth (homemade)
2 C Boiling Water
1 large onion, diced
4 garlic cloves. Minced
4 medium carrots, sliced
1 small zucchini, sliced
3 T fresh parsley, minced
1 T dry basil
1 t dry thyme
¼ t black pepper
1 shake red pepper flakes
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
½ C dry pasta (left over in the cupboard)
Salt as desired

Get out soup pot and sauté pan.
Place frozen broth and water in soup pan, turn to medium and defrost.
Place 2 T Olive oil in sauté pan and place onion in. Stir and add garlic. I sprinkled ½ teaspoon kosher salt over the mixture at this point.
When onion is becoming clear, place mixture in soup pot.
Saute carrots and zucchini for 7 minutes then place in soup pot.
By now broth is boiling and it’s time to add the spices.
Add the pasta and beans.
Keep the broth at a light boil.
The soup is done when the pasta is al dente.
Turn the stove to warm and serve!
Serve with roasted garlic bread, which I had left over from the night before…..we dip it into balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil..YUM!

Honestly, we were eating by 6:30pm!