CQ's Kitchen: Index Card No. 1

And now it's time to flex my culinary muscles.

Like many people, I'm fond of good cooking. I was probaby born to cook because as early as six years old, I was already cooking ham, mushroom and cheese omelettes.

As I grew up I dabbled in different cuisines and had my fair share of failures. Thankfully, from the ashes and crumbs of those disasters rose some recipes that have become particular favorties of my family and friends. So now, I will every now and then share some of my masterpieces.

As a note, I am not a professional chef nor is this really a scientific matter. My meaurements comes in one size: to taste. I've added measurements so that people will feel better about trying out my recipes. However, I probably don't follow them anyway.

Use the Force, Luke. Let go, Luke. Luke, trust me.

Cream of Squash Soup

Ideally this should be made with an oven, but this is a version with can be done on a stove. I served this recently at a party with my friends and surprisingly this became their favorite dish, dislodging my pasta from its lofty throne.

One fresh squash or pumpkin (your favorite variety will do)
At least 4 cloves of garlic
3 whole white onions chopped
1 can of cream
Fresh milk (full cream or low-fat will do)
1/2 cup grated cheese (any semi-hard cheese)
Fresh basil chopped (or any fresh herb will do)
Curry powder (or cumin, paprika and all-spice)
Salt and pepper (or seasoned salt) to taste
Worcestershire sauce
Butter and/or olive oil
Bullion Cube (optional)

Directions:


Peel the squash and cut into squares. Toss the squash along with two cloves of crushed garlic and one chopped onion into a pot of boiling water (just enough to cover the squash). Cook until the squash is tender. Drain the water (you can opt to save it for later) and put the softened squash, onions and garlic in a food processor. Add a little bit of butter (about a tablespoon) and a bit of milk. Puree the squash until it becomes a smooth paste.

Mince the remaining cloves of garlic and chop the two onions.

Over a medium flame, heat a large saucepan (make sure it's large enough to hold all of the soup you intend to make), and toss in some olive oil and the minced garlic. Make sure you put them in at the same time because tossing in the garlic after the oil is hot will burn it. Sauté the garlic and quickly add the onions. Season this with a dash of salt. Once the onion has become tender, lower the heat of the stove. Add most of the chopped basil, saving some as garnishing. Quickly add the squash paste and another dollop of butter quickly sautéing the paste without burning it. Season with a teaspoon of curry poweder or a dash of equivalent spices. Add the cream and briskly stir it until the cream is incorporated into the paste and vice versa.

Add milk and vegetable stock (where the squash was boiled in) alternately until the mixture reaches a soup-like consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Stir in grated cheese until it melts. Garnish with basil leaves. Serve hot.