RX for Winter Hangover

It was FREEZING this morning. I'm sick of it. My remedy? A sunny winter squash soup. From DK's lovely SOUP, this is a recipe for 4 (a nice change from most recipes that make 8 servings) with so few ingredients and such simple instructions, having made it twice, I have memorized it:
1 lb butternut squash, seeded & chopped into 1-inch pieces (1/2 of one medium squash)
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic, smashed
Saute these in 1 1/2 tbsp butter in a large saucepan for 15 mins, with the cover on. Stir occasionally.
Add about 1/2 tsp of nutmeg and cook with the lid on for another 5 mins. Add 2 cups hot chicken stock and bring to a boil. When squash is tender, add 1/2 cup Half-and-half, simmer for one minute. Puree in blender and season with s/p.

This from an Internet search on the nutrients in butternut squash:
"Winter squash emerged from our food ranking system as an excellent source of vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene), a very good source of vitamin C, potassium, dietary fiber and manganese. In addition, winter squash emerged as a good source of folate, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B1, copper, vitamin B6, niacin-vitamin B3 and pantothenic acid."

Take that, Old Man Winter!

Going Green

In the food world, "green" is the new black. All of us must consume fresh foods acquired direct from small farms or artisans or via an expensive, trendy restaurant in which the chef/owner sports extensive, complicated tattoos. But I never cared about being trendy: green here is a silly nod to St. Patrick on his feast day. Those carbs helped to soak up the fresh pint of Harp I had a Rosie O'Grady's at lunchtime!

Irish and Soda II

With the addition of one cup of whole wheat flour, a teaspoon each of baking soda and salt, and a couple of splashes of milk to help the dough come together, the small dark loaf came out of the 400-degree F oven after 25 minutes fragrant with lemon and sweet with raisins. The wheat flakes keep it from being too dense. Right size, terrific taste--it'll do!

Irish and Soda

Making a wholegrain fruit soda bread this weekend from an unusual recipe: you make your wet ingredients out of wheat flakes, milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, and raisins and leave it in a cool place overnight. It was so beautifully spring-like today, I could probably put this on the windowsill, but the pigeons would get it before I could! Having seen "Mary Poppins: The Musical" today with Daddy's friend Lucy Phillips, I'm in the mood for nursery food: a thick slab of bread with "lashings" of butter and orange marmalade.

Winter's Bounty

If you can't go to the Sunshine State, bring the sunshine to you! I canned Florida oranges this weekend as orange marmalade from Sherri Brooks Vinton's wonderful preserving primer, PUT 'EM UP. The kitchen smells like what I imagine a humid greenhouse full of orange trees does. These'll make great gifts for other snowbound friends who by now are sick to death of shoveling, de-icing, and shivering!

WHAT JURY DUTY IS GOOD "PHO"

Vietnamese restaurants have become the real reason to go to Chinatown in Manhattan. Bahn mi and pho joints are everywhere! I had my first bowl of pho yesterday at Pho Pasteur (which seems to me like a name concocted to make Americans less suspicious of exotic foods that might not be "clean" enough!). Fresh shrimp swam in a light broth with broccoli, celery, cilantro, and rice noodles. Messy, but wholly satisfying!

AND THE VERDICT IS...

The only good thing about jury duty in Manhattan is ready access to Chinatown's exotic, well stocked supermarkets. For dinner at home with Charles last week, I found fresh vegetable noodles to make a bed for the steamed salmon steaks. The markets are packed with condiments and sauces, flour and pre-made won ton wrappers, colorful vegetables, and noodles, dried and fresh. The noodles were satisfying, a nice complement in color to the salmon, but--even with butter, salt, and pepper--not particularly flavorful. The salmon was delicious: steamed in tin foil on top of the stove on two slices of ripe tomato with a mayonnaise/white wine vinegar/dill/caper sauce and a garnish of chopped green olives. And the verdict is...guilty of being easy, fresh, and fragrant.