Coconut, Ginger and Butternut Squash Soup

With Thanksgiving around the corner, I thought I would to post one of my favorite butternut squash soup recipes. I love the idea of serving soup in little 4oz jars because it's a fantastic way to have a little taste of the soup and still leave plenty of room for the main course. It works specially well if you are having cocktails before dinner because they are easy to pass around. 

I don't like to use cream in my soups. I usually just puree the veggies and that's it  but in this occasion I used coconut milk. The minute I added the coconut milk into the pot of simmering veggies, a wonderful coconut smell invaded my kitchen. Oh boy! Was that good. Texture wise, SO creamy and silky, I just loved it. 

Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner! 

Last year's links: 

Roasted butternut squash

Roasted carrots with gremolata

Pork loin with cranberry raspberry sauce

Butternut squash soup with spiced mascarpone cheese

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pound butternut squash, 

seeded, peeled and cut in 1-inch dice

1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced

2 shallots, chopped

1 thyme sprig 

2 tbsp ginger, chopped

1 cup coconut milk, unsweetened

salt and pepper

olive oil

Toasted shredded coconut to serve. 

In a large pot, heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Add shallots and ginger and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the squash, potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Stir the vegetables and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes. Add enough hot water to come half way the veggies, about one cup. Add thyme, cover and let it simmer for 15 minutes then add the coconut milk. Cook for another 10 minutes or until the vegetables are very tender, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat, remove the thyme and puree the vegetables with an immersion blender until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve with toasted shredded coconut.

Flour-less Chocolate Cake

Hello guys, I'm back. October, November and December are usually busy months for me. Lately, one project has been taking all my time and that is why I've been absent but I'm finally done. 

Before I started blogging I did several things for a living. Among them, visual merchandizing. Displays, holiday windows, decorations etc… That was something I really enjoyed and loved to do but after the arrival of my son and the temporary overseas departure of Leetal, my friend and partner in crime, I stopped. 

Now that my son is a little older and Leetal came back to the country, it's something I'm definitely considering to get back into. We took a job opportunity to make a christmas display for a store in Soho. It was fun to go back to those days, designing, shopping, hammering, gluing, playing around, etc… Fun stuff.

After all the madness and working for 26 hours straight, I got home so tired and hungry, all I wanted was to sleep. We were pleased with the way everything came out and I'm ready to do it again. 

This week recipe is a flour-less chocolate cake I did when my aunt and cousins came to visit us a couple of weeks ago. This is one of my favorite chocolate recipes because it's so simple and quick to make and the flavor is fantastic. Seriously, everybody I serve this cake to, loves it. I hope you enjoy it too!

Ingredients:

8oz  70% dark chocolate, chopped

1 sticks of butter, cut in small pieces,

 plus more for the pan

5 large eggs, separated

1/2 cup of sugar

2 Tablespoons of  cocoa powder

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. 

Butter  and dust with cocoa powder an 8-inch spring form pan, set aside. Melt butter and chocolate in a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, make sure the bowl is not touching the water, stir until smooth. Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar in a mixing bowl until the mixture turns pale yellow. Gradually add the slightly cool chocolate into the egg mixture whisking until well blend. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Whisk 1/4 of  the whites into chocolate mixture, gently fold remaining whites into the chocolate with a spatula. Pour into the prepared pan and bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 to 45 minutes. Let it cool. To serve, I used whipped cream and pistachios, vanilla ice cream goes great as well or simply dust with powder sugar. 

Here is a quick photo Leetal took with her phone of the window we made.