Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup

Talk about easy!  

This delicious seasonal soup was created in a few short steps! 

 Cut a large butternut squash down the middle and scoop out the guts.

Place the cut sides down in a pan.  Splash 1/2 cup of water into the pan 

with the squash.  Bake at 375 for 40-50 minutes. If I had a white

or yellow onion on hand I would have cut it up and tossed in the

pan to cook up, as well.

Remove from heat and allow the squash to cool a bit.

Glorious, cooked butternut squash. 

Use a spoon to scoop the cooked squash into a blender.

Then add one 14 ounce can of coconut milk and 3/4 cup coconut 

cream,1 T. yellow curry powder (you can find it most anywhere, I just

recently picked some up at Target).  Blend and add salt to taste (and if I 

wasn't serving this soup to my kids I would add cayenne pepper to taste).

Then add stock (vegetable or chicken stock) to desired thickness of soup.

If you have an immersion blender, just pop all this stuff into a large saucepan and start a blending.

I do believe Trader Joe's makes the finest of

fine coconut cream and coconut milk.

For a garnish I decided to bake some store bought naan.  

Used a pizza wheel to cut strips, then cut each strip in half.

 Tossed with sunflower oil (any light oil will do) and

sprinkled with flake sea salt and yellow curry powder. 

Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

Enjoy!

I think tomorrow I will try topping the soup with chicken & 

apple sausages.  Some other tasty add ins would be:

crispy pan fried garbanzo beans, sauteed greens (spinach or kale)

and grilled chicken.  Hmmm, what else?

Kitchen Remodel: AFTER

 

Ahhhhh, this is my new kitchen.  I am obsessed.  I can't quit baking. OMG.

Here's a sneaky of the way it used to look, just for a refresher.

Little stainless shelf above range was cut to size.

I inherited the idea from my friends, Adam & Jade.

It's an under $50 find from Ikea.  Love.

Why yes, I did plan the cabinet hardware to mimic

the appliances.  Again, obsessed.

The counter (peninsula) that separates the kitchen

from the dining room used to be a full wall, with

an arched doorway, that led into the dining room.

I am so thankful that we took that wall down.  

I am even more excited that the walk through

was roomy enough to support my metro rack 

of random things.  There is a chunk of 

kitschy, old lady that lives in my soul and she just

loooooves kitchen sh!t...

Let's be real, my favorite things are favorites for

great reason!!!  My grandma's juicer, random bowls

I found at garage sales or acquired from my mom, milk

bottles that held flowers at our wedding, a hand blender I scored a flea market

in Seattle, when I took the train up to see a friend when we were newlyweds 

in Oregon...and on and on.  I loooove this stuff. 

One of my favorite things about having this wall gone 

(yes, this was the wall), is the amazing sight lines. I can

see the kids playing in their tent (which was lovingly crafted by my in-laws).

 I used to have to peek around the corner every few seconds, just

to make sure they were playing okay.  Now, they play in peace, while I 

prep dinner.  Very much a win/win on that front. 

I am equally excited about the great work surfaces, which the old set up lacked greatly.  

The microwave/convection combo was a must have, as I didn't want to lose 

our limited upper wall space to a microwave, and I love the idea that I have 

an additional oven, when I am on a roll and can't shove everything into the

main oven.  Priorities, my friends...priorities.

 

Can you now even stand that a wall used to stand

here?  UH-mazing, right

So...come visit.  We'll get our bake on!!!