It's SOUPer Saturday!

Just before Christmas I developed an obsession for soup. Thick, rich, hearty, spicy, gut-warming soups. So I took it on a journey through Roasted Butternut Squash, cans of Pumpkin Puree, sautéed mushrooms, bacon, tomatoes, onions, curry, cayenne, coriander, cumin...mmmmmmmm. Well today, I'm back on track with a little Kabocha action. And we had a souper breakfast!
As you probably know, Kabocha is a Japanese winter squash. Slightly sweet and rich in nutrients, typically weighing in at the 2-3lb mark. I found it in my local supermarket. If you have no luck there, try an Asian market or Farmer's market.

Roasted Kabocha Soup
Ingredients

• Medium Kabocha
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 large onion sliced into thin rings
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can coconut milk
  
• 3 tbsp olive oil (divided)
• 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper 
• 1/2 tsp salt
• pepper to taste
•  Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce
  

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Cut open Kabocha and scoop out the guts, rub cut surface with 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil, and place cut side down on greased cookie sheet. Bake in oven 45 min, or until flesh is easily pierced with knife. Allow to cool then scoop flesh away from skin. Discard skin.
3. While Kabocha bakes, caramelize onions in 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil. Once browned, add all spices (curry, corriander, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper) and sauté 30 seconds to open up the flavors.
4. Add diced tomatoes, chicken broth, coconut milk and pumpkin to pot with onions and bring to a boil. Turn heat down and allow to simmer 10 minutes.
5. In batches, transfer to food processor and puree. Return to pot to keep warm.
6. Serve garnished with Sriracha sauce. (you may want to let individuals monitor their own as it's pretty hot stuff!)

Notes: Greg, of course, believes bacon makes everything better. I have to agree. Next time I may play around with adding bacon to this recipe.

Tonight's dinner brought to you by the loveable guidos and guidettes of The Jersey Shore, Mike aka “The Situation” and Sammi “Sweetheart.”

I watched an episode of The Jersey Shore the other day, just to see what the hype was all about, and was inspired to recreate the Italian Sausage and Peppers they cooked when they first moved into the house. No, really. I figured if they could pull it off, I could too. I mean, how much more rustic can you get? 

Chop a coupla peppas, a coupla onions, throw in some sausage, toss it in the oven, bada-bing, bada-bang you have a meal that would make any Italian mama proud.

The show is a train wreck, by the way, but the Sausage and Peppers are stars! 

Oven Roasted Sausage and Peppers

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 6 large sausage links, Italian works well but tonight I used Aidelles Roasted Garlic and Gruyere Cheese sausages
• 1 large onion, quartered
• 1 Red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-2 inch pieces
• 1 Yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-2 inch pieces
• 1 Orange bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-2 inch pieces
• 3 medium golden potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 8 large garlic cloves, smashed and coarsely chopped
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Italian seasoning, to taste

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees 
2. Melt butter and olive oil in large skillet and brown sausage links on all sides
3. Remove sausages to casserole dish and cover with chopped vegetables, garlic, salt and pepper, seasonings, and diced tomatoes.
4. Pour off extra oil, and quickly deglaze skillet with white wine to remove all of the brown bits, and pour over top of casserole.
5. Bake in oven for 45 minutes, or until potatoes are fork tender.

I think someone needs to work on their photography skills...I'm just saying...

Tonight's culinary disaster brought to you by the letter "P"

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Raisin Muffins. Who could think of a more delicious disaster. Where did it all go wrong? Could it have been the fact that I used 1/2 cup rather than 1/3 cup peanut butter? I come from the school of "more of a good thing = more goodness" or "more goodness, more better". Or maybe it was the fact that my oven sucks! Two months later, and I'm still learning my way around this electric nightmare. It never heats to the right temp, blows hot air from the oven through one of the stove eyes.  I miss my gas stove in LA :(

So, the muffins...recipe claims 20-25 minute cooking time, I cooked to 20 which, turns out, was too long. They are quite crispy on the outside, a bit dry inside. Nothing a little butter and jelly can't make better. But, my dedication to the cultivation of new reasons to use peanut butter are so strong that I am going to keep trying until I get this one right!
Anyway, the recipe: 

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Raisin Muffins

1 cup All-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp Baking powder

1/2 tsp Baking soda

1 cup Rolled Oats, not instant
1/2 tsp Cinnamon

3/4 cup Milk
2 Eggs

1/3 cup Peanut butter (I used 1/2 cup)

1/2 cup Maple syrup

1/2 cup Raisins

In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, oats, raisins and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, combine egg, milk, peanut butter, and maple syrup. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ones until just moistened. Pour into greased muffin tins and bake at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes.

Recipe modified from vegweb.com and is in no way representative of the quality of their recipes. Love, not hate.

And here are how mine looked:

New Year, new journey?

Tonight I find myself home alone, thinking of things to cook. Again. And thinking about my journey through life. I'm not so sure that it is a journey so much as a search, and I never really know what it is I'm searching for- just browsing, really. Different things, of course, but one constant is food. Maybe it's a journey through food, maybe I just like to eat, maybe it's LOVE.

My family is food. From my Greek grandmother's family, chocolatiers; my Greek grandfather, self-taught, accomplished chef and, as local legend has it, owner of a "World-famous restaurant"; and my Alabama Grandmother who cooked elaborate country feasts every Sunday and made the best Chicken and Dumplings and Red Velvet Cake you'll ever eat. My father has carried on in the family tradition of professional chefing, and loves to share his recipes and his TV cooking segments with his mini-me. He tells me I'm a "healthy eater", I hope that means I have a finely tuned appreciation for the divine. My mother was a talented home cook, with hot meals every evening and adventurous lunch boxes. I can't tell you how many "Ewwwww's" I got over my Cream cheese, Carrot, and Raisin sandwiches on Whole Wheat when my friends were eating Bologna on White. Sheesh.

So, back to my food journeys, these have mostly come in the cooked-for-me form rather than the I-cooked form. My father still won't let me cut anything in his kitchen. "Sweetheart, let me do that for you", he says. Throughout the years I've put it to the test, cooking, and I believe the most growth I've seen in my skills and abilities have been in the past 2 years. Significant changes in my life have made this possible. Gone are the days College, drinking PBR and mac-n-cheese. Sayonara to my tiny Tokyo kitchen, with dorm-sized fridge, and 2-burner stove (no oven). Over are the 16 hour grad school days. And, utmost, I now have someone else in my life who will eat what I cook, no matter how disastrous it turns out! (and there have been some disasters).

I started this blog more than a year ago to chronicle my culinary journey. Imagining that this would be culled from my dining-out experiences, rather than my kitchen adventures. I had just moved to L.A. and the culinary landscape was awe inspiring. It never happened. Looking back now, I realize all of the missed opportunities to immortalize my kitchen creations and mishaps. It's like watching a child grow! All of those awkward and embarrassing moments captured, in digital format, for eternity. Well, no longer! I am here to post! New Year, New Journey!

As a side-note, I am a terrible journalizer. I Yelp!, that is fairly constant. That's how I keep track of where and what I eat- good or bad. This will be my forum for keeping track of what I cook. When the mood strikes, when I remember.