International Discoveries

Normally I shoot for 1 post per week.  That seems reasonable so far.  However, last night in our house we had "Taste Epiphany".  In other words we had some new foods that had never before come out of our kitchen, and I just had to write about them.



See what I mean?  Aren't they cute?



First is butternut squash.  Normally I am not a fan.  Can't help it, it's just the way it is.  From the time I was little, my Mom will confirm, squash in ANY form was just not something that I cared for.  I would take the "try it, taste it," two bites, and still would rather eat sawdust than squash.  (In my defense however, I would eat pumpkin pie.  That didn't even count as squash in my book.)  This past week, I had been blessed and given two lovely, fresh butternut squash.  They were gifts from 8 year olds that I couldn't possibly tell  that I didn't care for them.   I took them with good grace and thought "Now what?"  They sat on my counter not singing and dancing like the squash on "Veggie Tales", but sitting stationary, daring me to try them.

Soup....hmmmm... I would make butternut squash soup.  If it didn't work, the chickens would like it.   Apples....hey.. we have apples fresh from the orchard.  Hmmmmmm....So I cooked the squash and apples and some onion together in a dutch oven.  I have become absolutely enamored with Indian food and Indian spices, so I started spicing up the broth.  I added cinnamon, cumin, cardamom, nutmeg. salt and pepper.  I then chopped fresh cilantro and threw that in.  The boys got in the act and said it would be better with some heat to it. So in went red pepper flakes.  OH MY GOSH!  2 BOWLS LATER....we were all eating butternut squash and apple soup with Indian spices.  Yes, Mom I ate my squash. 

To go with the soup, I thought grilled sandwiches would be good.  In the grocery store  I had picked up a package of Halloumi cheese.  Halloumi cheese is a Greek cheese that can be sliced and grilled as is.  You slice it up, pop it on a skewer, or in a pan and grill it until it gets golden brown.  It's very similar in texture to Indian paneer cheese.  (Never met a cheese I didn't like.)  It doesn't get sticky and nasty in the pan, but caramelizes beautifully.  I had never had or tasted it so thought I'd give it a try.  It was amazing!

I grilled up a whole plateful of cheese.  We assembled turkey, apple, and grilled Halloumi sandwiches and cooked them panini style.  Delicious. 
Greece and India in one night.  Wonder where our taste buds will travel to tonight!

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup
In dutch oven take 2 Tbsp butter and sweat 1 small onion diced for about 5 min.
Add 3-4 cups peeled, seeded, and diced butternut squash
2-3 cups chopped, peeled, and seeded apple (any variety.  I used Macs)
2 Tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp cinnamon
2 bay leaves
2 cans of chicken stock
Allow to come to a boil and let simmer until squash and apples are soft.  Take bay leaves out of soup.  Reserve 2 cups of soup (if you want some chunks of squash or apples.  Hubby likes texture and doesn't care for totally pureed soup.)  Puree the remaining soup.  Add reserved soup back in. 
Add:
1/4 c brown sugar
salt and pepper
2 tsp grated nutmeg
Red pepper flakes to taste ( can be omitted)
Chop fresh cilantro and add into soup.  Garnish with a dollop of sour cream and cilantro.  (This would be very tasty with fresh Naan.)

Grilled Halloumi, Turkey, and Apple Sandwiches
Arnold Multigrain Sandwich Thins
Deli Turkey
Halloumi cheese
Peeled Sliced Apples
Butter

In a heated grill pan, slice the Halloumi cheese.  You do not need to grease the pan.  The cheese will generally not stick.  I used cast iron and it really didn't.  Grill the cheese 1-2 minutes on each side.  The cheese will turn golden brown and will retain it's shape.  Take the cheese off the heat.
Thinly butter the outsides of the bread this.  Assemble sandwiches with turkey, apple, and cheese.  Put the  top on  the sandwich and grill 2-3 minutes each side until golden brown.