Avocado Penne with Walnuts

I was trying to do something with the super-ripe avocados we have at home weeks ago. Jeff hates it, I find it quite intriguing and I really don't mind eating it again. It's just something I cooked up on my own imagination, no recipe or anything.

Oven-baked chicken with garden vegetables

Jeff cooked dinner.

Yay! He cooks! I can sleep! :)

It's pretty good. yums.

Autumn Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

The moment I've waited for had arrived. I've finally made angmoh soup! And my favourite comfort soup of all! Squash soup! I've been intending to make squash soup for the longest time, but drinking the nice tangy one at Gore's speech really propelled me into action. The secret to the tang, I found out, was a nice green granny smith apple. So yums! I'm very proud of it! And J's v proud of it!

To make soup:
Sautee butternut squash, carrots, potatoes, onions and garlic with some olive oil. Add chicken broth and apple (please make sure apple to squash ratio is 1:3) and boil till squash is soft. Puree and bring to a simmer again, add nutmeg and cinnamon, salt and pepper to taste.

I'm try to avoid dairy in cooking because of over-enthusiastic eating of yoghurt and cheese in the morning and I'm glad to say that it turns out fantastic without cream or milk.

I read that roasting the vegetables before cooking them gives a nice roasted taste to it, but J was cleaning the oven when I was making soup and I didn't want to disturb his "cleaning" process. Instead I sauteed the vegetables nice and golden brown. I think I will try the roasted version next week. Yeapp with Whole Foods selling butternut squash at 39 cents/lb, I will be making loads of squash related meals! hahaha
Score:
J- 8/10
Me- 8/10

Baked potato soup

4 maris piper potatoes, cleaned
butter or margarine
1/2 onion, chopped
4-5 sticks of celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp of flour
1 cup chicken broth
2 cups milk

Optional toppings: shredded cheese, diced ham or crumbled bacon, chives or scallions, Tabasco sauce, croutons

Quarter the potatoes and roast them in the oven at 200 degrees for 1 1/2 hours with 1 tbsp butter. Set aside to cool slightly. Melt the butter in a soup pot over medium-high heat and add onion and celery. Cook 6-7 minutes until softened. Add minced garlic and cook 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add flour and stir several minutes to make a thickened roux. Gradually stir in milk and broth. Add roasted potatoes to soup and mash. Cook soup on medium to bring to a boil. Add salt and pepper (to taste). Serve alone or topped with anything that sounds good to you.



I am quite impressed with the soup; it tastes like the soup from Tony Romas (i haven't tried the soup from there but i think it tastes like it). It's very American (or at least i think it's very American).