Vegan Curried Butternut Squash Soup

It's that time of year again! Time to bust out my favorite soup recipe!
But since I was recently diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, I have had to make some major changes to my diet. Here's an update to my original recipe. I can barely tell the difference! Still super delicious. I think you'll agree.

Vegan Curried Butternut Squash Soup

• 2 T extra virgin olive oil
• 1 T coconut oil
• 2 large sweet onions, chopped
• 4 tsp curry powder (more or less as you prefer)
• 2 large butternut squash
• 3 sweet apples, cored, peeled, cut into chunks
• 1 Granny Smith apple for garnish
• 4 cups (one package) Trader Joe's vegetable broth
• 2 cups apple cider or juice• kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
Wash and halve squash. (I ask the produce person at the grocery store to cut my squash in half for me. SO much easier than doing it myself.)
Remove seeds. Bake flat side down in greased baking dish with about 1/4" of water at 400° until almost soft, about 35 minutes.
Cool slightly and scoop squash from skin. Discard skin. Save pan juices if there are any.

Melt coconut oil with olive oil in a large stock pot.
Add onions, and curry powder and sauté for 10 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent burning or sticking.
Cover pot and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes until onions are soft.
Add the squash, pan juices, apples and stock to the pot. Add a pinch of salt and pepper.
Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer over low heat for 30 to 40 minutes, until the squash and apples are very soft. Add apple cider.

Puree the soup right in the cooking pot using a stick blender. (If you don't have a stick blender, trust me, you need one. This is my favorite kitchen gadget. Alternatively you can transfer the soup to a food processor to puree.)

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve hot, garnished with finely chopped granny smith apples.

Freezes well.

Mmmmm.

Recipe: Mujadara

Lebanese Lentils and Rice

A great vegan main course!

Most Mujadara recipes I have found make a sort of soupy dish. This recipe makes a drier more pilaf-style dish, which I personally prefer. Also, I use brown rice because it’s so much better for you than white. Be sure to use Basmati. It’s better. Honest.

(If you like yours more like soup, just add some water in the final step.)

3 cups brown basmati rice, cooked al dente 

according to package directions

1 16 oz. package green/brown lentils 

(NOT the tiny French ones or the orange ones)

5 TBS extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

3 large onions peeled and sliced into 1/2" rings
1 onion diced

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin + a dash

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 

1 small cinnamon stick

salt to taste

Cook rice according to package directions. Set aside to cool.

Rinse and sort lentils, making sure there is no debris. Put them into a medium saucepan. Fill with enough cold water to cover the lentils by about an inch. Bring it to a boil then turn down heat and simmer until lentils are tender but not soft, about 20 minutes. (Taste one to check) Drain and set aside.  (want to save time? Cheat and buy canned lentils, making sure to rinse and drain them before using)

Caramelize the onions:  In a large skillet or wok (Yes, I use a wok for this!) heat about 2 TBS. olive oil.  Add the sliced onions and season with a pinch of cumin, pepper and a bit of salt, and saute until they turn dark dark brown, stirring often. This will take at least 15 minutes. Watch that they don’t burn. Add a little water if they start to stick to the pan. Go for a crispy caramelized texture.

Drain the onions to a paper towel-lined plate. 

Put about 3 TBS olive oil in the skillet. 
Saute the chopped onion until soft. Mix the cooked lentils and rice with the onions in the skillet. Sprinkle with the rest of the cumin, cayenne and the cinnamon stick. Saute gently, stirring often until well blended and some of the rice starts to brown. Season to taste.

Serve on a platter with the reserved caramelized onions sprinkled on top.

Serve with warm pita bread or pita chips. Great with olives, pickled vegetables and a fattoush salad.  (recipe for that coming soon)

Also good with a little plain yogurt.

Freezes well.