Roasted kabocha squash soup

Last year around this time, I learned about kabocha squash.  I'd enjoyed it for ages in the form of tempura at Japanese restaurant without ever quite knowing what it was!

But luckily, Nami at Just One Cookbook revealed the mystery of the delicious kabocha squash, also known as "Japanese pumpkin".  I started experimenting with roasting different varieties of squash last Fall and I discovered that I really love the kabocha above all else! 

What I love most about it is the texture.  It's this wonderful combination of squash-potato, sweet-potato, and chestnut!  It's usually got the texture and flavor of Japanese sweet potato as well, which I absolutely adore (I say "usually" because sometimes you get a drier-denser kabocha and other times, a "wetter", more squash-like, one).  It's sweet and altogether delectable and really satisfying.  Now that it's been in season, I constantly buy this green, knobbly and rough-looking squash to roast.  I can put away a lot in one sitting!  Now given my tendency towards routine, it's hard for me to break away from simply roasting-and-eating, but I managed to try something new - this soup!

There's no cream necessary in making this thick, smooth, and creamy kabocha soup. I started with sweet onions and flavored the soup with a generous amount of grated ginger as well as garlic for a little kick to balance the sweetness.  I add roasted kabocha, cooking everything together, before using the immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth.

This is my husband's kind of way of enjoying kabocha and I also devoured my fair share of it.  It's so hearty and satisfying.  I do love to eat the skin of the kabocha though - amazingly, the rough and tough-looking skin is incredible soft and absolutely edible after cooking.  So while I'm not about to give up on my roast-and-eat routine, I'll be more than happy to make a batch of roasted kabocha soup once in a while.

Curry-ginger carrot soup

Hi there - I hope you had a wonderful holiday!  Maybe you're still enjoying the break, kicking your feet up in the comfort of your home?  I like to think that of everyone.  For my part, I'm home savoring the time together with my family.  The thing is...I've realized that while we can't slow down time, we can try to savor it.  So that's just what I'm doing as we look forward to the New Year and embrace that feeling of possibility that comes with it.

Since my attempt at chocolate-champagne truffles was a dud, I drop in today with a simple soup for my last post of the year.  Maybe it's just as well because while I've been enjoying - really thoroughly enjoying - all the treats the season (and our very own kitchen) has to offer, I hit something of a wall a few days ago when my husband brought home some pastries from Francois Payard.  They were delicious and we polished them off (along with some other treats around the house) but I suppose I just had one piece of cake too many and needed a day or two's reprieve*.  Soup is great for that.

Naturally sweet carrot soup balanced by spices from curry powder and fresh ginger

And I have been on a pretty consistent soup kick since September.  I can't get tired of it because I just find a big piping-hot bowl of soup to go so well, and be so welcomed, with just about anything during the cold months.  It's always smart to have healthy, nourishing, ready-to-eat food in the house and I'm so happy when I look in my fridge and suddenly remember I have some soup ready to go.

Sometimes carrot soup can be too sweet.  A particular Thai restaurant I've been to comes to mind - their carrot soup is so sweet, it can't possibly be from carrots alone.  I think someone's dousing the soup with a little sugar, which should be unnecessary in my opinion.  In fact, I like to balance out the natural sweetness of the carrots with spice.  So I enjoy a version like this one where both curry powder and fresh ginger, as well as a little garlic, add a spicy dimension.

You can use vegetable broth for this soup but I like the more savory note in the background from using chicken broth.  I'm thankful for my immersion blender, which I use to puree soups like this one. The carrot soup ends up nice and creamy but light.  It's a lighter alternative to say butternut squash soup, which I have likewise been doctoring with curry powder. Come to think of it, I've been adding curry powder to quite a number of savory dishes!

I think this is the kind of simple food we all welcome in the rapidly-approaching month of January. Personally, I'm for all kinds of eating, in January and any month for that matter - soup included!

* Happily, it didn't take long for me to re-coup from my dessert excesses.  I'm ready for a slice of cake now.  : )