Soups On

Good Afternoon and Happy Friday to You!

I hope everyone has had a great week and are looking forward to the weekend.  I sure am!  I survived another week and am finally feeling like we are getting into the swing of things.  Last night was Back to School Night at Laurelhurst and I was pleasantly surprised by all the staff and teachers and especially the  parent participation.  Everyone is very involved in their childrens education and goes the extra mile to make sure the teachers have the tools and resources that they need.  Both of my kids seem to be thriving and I am so relieved.  I even had a parent come up to me and tell me that their daughter has a huge crush on Emmet.  When I asked Emmet about it he became very squirrly and hid under the covers.  Oh boy. 

So yesterday I was the perfect day to make soup.  It happened to be a bit cold and rainy and a great day to cook and bake.  My favorite thing to do.  I also had the house to myself and enjoyed spending the day cooking, baking and studying.  Oh yes, I have homework once again and am loving the assigned reading that we have for our certification to become a Health and Wellness Coach.  I am learning alot about positive psychology and other skills that will not only help me on my journey but hopefully others as well.  I am really excited about this opportunity and have already teamed up with a few classmates to work on our coaching skills.  I love the networking aspect of the class and have even discovered that one of my classmates lives in Portland. 

I did take a few shortcuts with my soups and felt a little bad about spending the extra money for convenience and packaging but it did save time.  I have been in the mood for Butternut Squash Soup but find that peeling and chopping butternut squash is quite challenging.  Thank goodness for Trader Joe's, I was able to buy the packages of cubed butternut squash as well as diced onion and was well on my way to making my soup in no time.




I pulled out my Ellie Krieger What You Crave Cookbook and whipped up her Curried Butternut Squash Soup.




1 tablespoon canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (2 1/2-pound) butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more, to taste
2 tablespoons honey
4 teaspoons plain low-fat yogurt + raw pepitas, for garnish

Directions

Heat oil over medium heat in a 6-quart stockpot. Add onions and garlic and saute until soft but not brown, about 6 to 7 minutes. Add the butternut squash, broth, curry powder and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until squash is tender, about 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat stir in honey and puree with an immersion blender or in batches in a blender until smooth. Season with salt, to taste.

Ladle into serving bowls and add a dollop of yogurt and pepitas.

This soup was super easy to make and I think the only thing that was a pain was blending the soup in the blender.  I think I may need to invest in an immersion blender.  I just wondered how often I would use it. Hmm.  Something to think about.

I added about a tsp of cracked red pepper to my soup and forgot to put in the honey so it has a little kick to it but was so delicious and super filling.  The calorie count is 295 calories, 6.5 grams of fat, 12 grams of protein and 7.5 grams of fiber for 1 1/2 cup.

Unfortunately my kids do not care for Butternut Squash Soup so I made a Ravioli and Turkey Meatball Soup for them.


 





Oh my.... this cake is simply fantastic.  It is super moist, chocolatey and has a kick of spice that makes it taste festive.  My family does not even know that it has pumpkin in it and that it is relatively healthy as far as cakes go.   I did tweak the recipe just a tad so will put what I did in parenthesis but I do not use corn syrup so substituted molasses and used a combination of whole wheat white flour and whole wheat pastry flour and it turned out great.


Active Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 3 1/2 hours (including cooling time)


Cake

1 cup all-purpose, flour (I used 1 cup whole wheat white flour)
3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, (not Dutch-process)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup nonfat buttermilk
1 15-ounce can unsweetened pumpkin puree
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 large egg white, at room temperature
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup light corn syrup ( I used 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Glaze & Garnish

1/2 cup packed confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon nonfat buttermilk
2 tablespoons mini chocolate chips, or toasted chopped nuts
Preparation

1.To prepare cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray.

2.Whisk all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, granulated sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a medium bowl.

3.Blend 1 cup buttermilk, pumpkin puree and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed. Beat in whole egg and egg white. Stir in oil, corn syrup (molasses)  and vanilla. Gradually add the dry ingredients, stirring until just combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan.

4.Bake the cake until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove from the pan and let cool completely on the rack, about 2 hours.

5.To glaze & garnish cake: Combine confectioners' sugar and 1 tablespoon buttermilk in a small bowl, stirring until completely smooth. Place the cake on a serving plate and drizzle the glaze over the top; garnish with chocolate chips (or chopped nuts) while the glaze is still moist.

NutritionPer serving: 234 calories; 5 g fat (1 g sat, 3 g mono); 13 mg cholesterol; 46 g carbohydrates; 4 g protein; 3 g fiber; 238 mg sodium; 159 mg potassium.






The best part is that one piece of cake is only going to set you back about 234 calories!  This is a nice little treat at the end of week and a great way to start off the Fall season.

Now today is an absolutely lovely day and it is supposed to get up to 81 degrees tomorrow so it will feel like summer for a few more days.  I better enjoy them while I can.

Tomorrow we are going to Zoe's soccer game, possibly shop for Halloween Costumes and then to a killer vegan restaurant, called Proper Eats with some of Steve's law school friends.  I am excited to try out the vegan restaurant.

Have a great evening and I will check back tomorrow.