Creamy Butternut Squash Tomato Soup with Coriander and Lentils

What's for lunch you ask? Why Butternut Squash Tomato Soup with loads of coriander and ginger! I had these ingredients on hand and did some creative combining ....  The secret? A heaping tablespoon of ground coriander....with a bit of tumeric, ginger and nutmeg.

 Simple Creamy Butternut Squash Tomato Soup

3/4 butternut squash, coarsely chopped

1 box of veggie broth ( 4 cups)

2 chopped onions

2 cloves garlic chopped

1 big can of diced tomatoes 

3/4 cup of red lentils

1 T ground coriander

1 t Tumeric 

1 t Ginger 

1/2 t Nutmeg

Squeeze of lemon juice and a squirt of hot sauce at the end to taste! 

Plop it all together in a pot and cook until squash tender. Puree with hand blender et voila!

15 Min. Corn/Veggie Chowder!

Ok. Quick comfort food. Something to tuck into this week's arsenal of meals:) My version is fat free and still tastes great but if you want to sauté the onion and garlic (and peppers, celery if using) in some butter or olive oil first that's fine too!

15 minute Corn/Veggie Chowder

1 carrot grated

1 large onion chopped finely 

1 large potato cubed in 1/2" squares

1 red pepper chopped finely (optional)

1 stalk of celery, finely chopped (optional)

1-2 garlic cloves minced or 1 tsp. garlic powder (I didn't have any real garlic)

1 can of corn, drained

1 can of creamed corn

Veggie broth or bullion cube

Almond milk, soy milk or regular milk.

1.Put everything except milk and creamed corn into a heavy pot. Add veggie broth or water/bullion cube to barely cover the top of veggies. 

2. Cover and simmer until potatoes and veg are cooked.(about 10-15 min)

3. Add creamed corn, salt and pepper to taste and heat.

3. I add the milk at the end, not much,  just to make it the consistency I like. I sometimes just leave it up whomever I'm serving it to to add the milk directly to their bowl instead; my daughter prefers real milk and I like almond milk:) 

You could  not add the milk at all to make it more of a brothy soup if you like. 

I add some smoked paprika and a dash of Siracha cha cha sauce to mine:). Yum. Enjoy!

Shelagh`s Easy Red Lentil Doldrum Defeating Dhal Soup!

Ha how's that for a title! Yesterday it started to rain and was very dreary and dark. I was hungry, cold, feeling low and wanted to brighten my day so I decided to use the warm colours and flavours of the East to perk myself up!  It had to be quick because I had work to do. This is what I came up with and it was really tasty :)

Shelagh's Easy Red Lentil Doldrum Defeating Dhal Soup!

Combine everything in a heavy pot....

Cover and simmer until all is soft, about 20 min.

Add a splash of lemon juice to brighten it up when done. And some zest if you like. 

4 cups veggie broth

1 large onion chopped finely

2 medium carrots chopped finely

1.5 cups red lentils, rinsed

3 cloves of garlic minced or 1T garlic powder

1T cumin

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 Inch of fresh ginger, grated 

1 bay leaf

(You could add some chilli flakes, I like to squirt in Siracha after)

An important spice in Dhal is cumin.I love it`s earthy deep warm flavour.

Tip: I keep my fresh ginger in the freezer, in a baggie, lasts forever. I take it out and grate what I need. No need to peel, it kind of flakes off on to the top of the rasp. 

It was yummy and absolutely brightened up my dull day. Hard to take a good pic of dhal soup but here is my bowl with a generous splat of Siracha hot sauce:) Cha Cha Cha!