Winter Soup

We went out for lunch one day this past week, something we rarely do... to get together with the people that we house/kitty sat for the past three winters.  It has been a few months since we have been together and well past time for a visit!

The place we chose is one of those great little out of the way joints, that serves breakfast all day till they close at 3:30 p.m., along with great burgers and some soups, salads, and sandwiches.  The decor is colorful and funky, the serving staff are friendly and the prices are pretty darn good for the wonderful food and upbeat atmosphere.

When we first sat down I checked out the chalkboard for the daily specials and was quite excited to see Butternut Squash and Coconut Soup there... but before we got a chance to order, one of the gals erased it from the sign and replaced it with Winter Broth, Butternut Squash and Kale Soup.  I have to admit I was a bit disappointed but decided to go ahead and have a bowl of soup with a gluten-free corn muffin anyway.  (Just as an aside, there was a message on the chalkboard that said all of the daily soups are dairy and gluten free.)

There was no need for disappointment!   It was delicious... a nicely spiced turkey broth, cubes of butternut squash and chunks of kale.  I couldn't have been happier.

And so I decided to try to make something similar at home.

I didn't have any kale in the fridge so I substituted spinach.  If you don't have turkey broth or chicken broth on hand, you could use bullion cubes instead.  And use whatever kind of oil you like... olive or even coconut would be good, I should think.  And I added onions... 

The Captain is always so helpful when I ask him to pare and cut a butternut squash for me.  And he scooped the seeds and soft flesh from the cavity and then cut the half I used into half-inch cubes as well.  Sometimes I am just not strong enough to cut through the tough shell of these Winter squashes so it is great that he can help me with that.

I got out my soup pot and got started!  I am calling my creation Winter Soup and it goes like this:



Winter Soup
Makes 6 servings.

• 1 tsp vegetable oil (I used a canol/olive oil blend)
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled, smashed and minced
• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped. about 8 ounces
• 1/2 butternut squash, about 20 ounces
• 4 cups turkey broth
• dashes of cumin, cinnamon, and salt
• 1 cup fresh spinach leaves

1. Gently heat the oil in a large stock pot and cook the onion till translucent, about 7 or 8 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and squash and cook for another 5 minutes.
3. Sprinkle seasonings over the veggies and stir in.
4. Add the stock, bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and allow to simmer, covered for 40 minutes.
5. To serve, ladle the hot soup into a bowl and toss in a few spinach leaves on the top and stir them in to wilt.

Per serving.
Weight Watchers P+ = 2.
Calories 79; Protein 4g; Carbohydrate 16g; Fat 1g; Fibre 3g.

I didn't put the spinach into the soup pot because I thought it would get too wilted and break up, but if I were using kale, I would put it into the soup pot for the last 10 - 15 minutes of the simmering process.

Simmering in the soup pot.



Hot soup ladled into a bowl.

 

 

With a bit of spinach tossed in.

 

 

We had this as the main focus of our lunch on Sunday, and we were both quite hungry as we had just come in, stretched, and cooled down, after a 5 km run.  Lunch needed to happen before showers even!  So I added 2 ounces of cooked chicken breast to each bowl, too, before I served it.  For another couple of P+ it was a great way to get in some tasty protein and make the meal more complete.



 

With cooked chicken breast added to the bowl.

 

Delicious and very filling.

 

  



Printable Recipe

Pumpkin Protein Cake

I have been craving pumpkin lately.  It probably has something to do with the power of suggestion.  Everywhere I look on the internet or in magazines, the pumpkin recipes are truly a display of creative genius... not to mention just plain old eye candy.  I wanted to get in on the action, too.

So I decided to make something like the Banana Protein Cake, but I used 1 cup of canned pumpkin puree instead of a whole banana, and also added some more spices.  It was delicious.... like having pumpkin pie for breakfast.  Of course you can halve the ingredients if you like.

I suggest cooking it in 2 stages to make sure it is not running over the edges of the microwave dish during cooking. If you just set it for 3 minutes and leave it, it is likely to end up on the bottom of your microwave oven!



Pumpkin Protein Cake
Makes 2 servings.

• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 egg
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1 Tbs chia seeds
• 2 Tbs almond milk
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

1. Mix all the ingredients together and place in a shallow microwaves-safe dish that has been lightly coated with a non-stick spray.
2. Cook on HIGH for 2 minutes.  Then cook on HIGH 1 minute more.
3. Remove from the mike and let rest 5 minutes.
4. Divide between 2 bowls and top as desired.

Per serving, without toppings.
Weight Watchers P+ = 5.
Calories 175; Protein 19g; Carbohydrate 14g; Fat 8g; Fibre 7g.

 

Stir everything together in a large bowl.

The batter should be fairly thick.

 

Let it rest and finish cooking after it comes out of the mike.

 

Place half into a cute serving dish and top... vanilla yogurt and pepitas for The Captain.

and for me, too.



Printable Recipe

#Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cookies

I haven't baked anything sweet for what seems like ages, and lately The Captain has been hinting that he would really like me to make some cookies.

I made these up because there was a cup of canned pumpkin in the fridge that I wanted to use up and thought they would fill his need for a sweet... well, they didn't quite, unfortunately. But I really like them so I am going to share them with you anyway.

They are not very sweet.  The Captain actually ended up putting a little dab of apricot jam on his and then he did enjoy them... and whilte the last few were baking I was thinking about how I could salvage them and I realized that they might really benefit from a bit of sweetened Laughing Cow Cheese.  So I did try that with a couple and it was quite delicious! 

One wedge of the cheese, sweetened with a bit of Stevia or Splenda will easily perk up 6 cookies.  I didn't include it in the N.I. but overall, it won't make much difference.



Gluten Free Pumpkin Cookies
Makes 22 drop cookies.

• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1 egg
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup fat free milk milk
• 1/4 cup honey

1. Preheat the oven to 375° F.
2. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl and stir till combined.
3. Using a Tbs measure spoon, drop the batter onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
4. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.  You can bake a bit longer if you would like a crispier cookie.
5. Remove to a baking rack and let them cool for 5 minutes or so before eating or a bit longer if you are adding the 'icing'.

Per cookie.
Weight Watchers P+ = 1.
Calories 44; Protein 2g; Carbohydrate 4g; Fat 3g; Fibre 1g.

Mix all ingredients together.

 

Drop onto parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

 

Bake for 15 minutes and allow to cool.

If you like, put a bit of sweetened Laughing Cow cheese on the top of each one.



Printable Recipe