Risotto, with Greens

Besides soup, risotto is my favorite cold weather comfort food. Since we've been eating lots of soup in my house lately, I decided to switch it up and make risotto tonight. The possibilities are pretty much endless in terms of flavors, so I narrowed it down to something seasonal. I found this recipe from the New York Times column Recipes for Health. I liked that it used winter squash (I used my favorite, butternut) and incorporated a healthy serving of collard greens. I followed the recipe pretty closely, only adding a couple extra cloves of garlic and skipping the cheese. This recipe came out great. It was creamy, warm, and flavorful without being too heavy. I served it with my regular raw veggie salad and lemony herb vinaigrette. This made a delicious dinner, complete with a hefty serving of leftovers!
I also want to let everyone know about the AWESOME giveaway going on right now on my friend Lauren's blog. She is giving away an ice cream maker! Check it out!

More Soup

After making the Asian hot pot over the weekend, I started craving a thick, creamy, blended soup. So tonight, I planned on making carrot ginger soup. Then I remembered I not only had carrots on hand, but I had about half a butternut squash already chopped up (extra from another meal a few days ago). I figured I ought to use it, so I decided to add that to the soup too. I also had about a third of a loaf of (what was) fresh whole wheat bread. It was a little too far gone for slicing and toasting for dipping so instead I made some croutons. It added a nice crunch to the smooth soup.

Coconut Ginger Carrot Squash Soup
(If anyone can think of a shorter name for this, it would be appreciated!)

-olive oil
-1 medium onion, chopped
-4 garlic cloves, minced
-half a large butternut squash, cubed
-10 large carrots, chopped
-2 tbsp freshly grated ginger
-4 cups vegetable stock
-salt and pepper
-1 15 oz. can coconut milk

-Heat some olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for about 5 minutes, until they are getting tender.
-Add the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes, until fragrant.
-Add the squash, carrots, and ginger. Stir to combine and distribute the ginger, and season with salt and pepper.

-Add the vegetable stock. Bring the soup to a boil, then simmer for 20-25 minutes, until the vegetables are fork tender. Turn off the heat.
-Using an immersion blender*, blend the soup until smooth. As you blend, add the coconut milk.
-Put the soup back over the heat until it's hot. Serve topped with croutons.

*The immersion blender might be my favorite kitchen tool. It is a must-have if you make a lot of soups. If you don't have one of these wonderful devices, you can blend the soup in a blender. Just be sure to work in batches, don't fill the blender more than half full, and never form a tight seal with the lid over hot blender contents. It could explode, I am not kidding.