Spiced Butternut Squash Soup

Oh boy, do I have butternut squash on my hands. As someone who rarely uses squash, I really didn't know what to do with it. The only logical thing I could think of was soup.

Butternut squash has kinda a sweet flavour, so the next step was to decide what to pair it with. Should I play off the sweet and add cinnamon and cloves, or add onions and garlic for contrast?

The latter won. And I'm glad it did. This soup had a flavour profile that blew me away-- curry, garlic, carrots, onions, sriracha, and (wait for it........) peanut butter!

I'm sorry, guys... I just couldn't resist adding a tablespoon. It's totally optional; add it if you like love adore fantasize over peanut butter. And before you add it in, let me warn you: that little bit adds quite a punch!

Spiced Butternut Squash Soup

3 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed

2 large carrots, peeled and chopped

1 medium white onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth

1 tbsp sriracha sauce

1 tbsp peanut butter (optional) 

1 tbsp. Curry powder

1/4 cup basil leavers (fresh)

Salt and pepper to taste

2 cups milk (I used dairy milk, 2%)

1. In a large soup pot, steam all ingredients except for the milk in the broth until soft (about 30 minutes). Allow to simmer for about 20 minutes on low, stirring occasionally.
2. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
3. Blend in batches with milk. Make sure each batch is blended with milk, for example, it took me 4 batches, divided into 1/2 cups of milk.
4. Return to pot and bring back up to temperature. If it seems too thick for you, add some more broth.

Enjoy it! I know I did!

Creamy Chocolate Peanut Butter

Remember my last recipe for peanut butter? Well here's another!

Peanut butter is seriously my favorite food. Now over the course of this blog, I am sure I'll frequently state otherwise, saying, "mango is my favorite food", or "chocolate is my favorite food", but the truth is, I have many favorite foods, but it just so happens that peanut butter is at the top of the totem pole. In fact, this blog might have been titled "Chits and Chats and Peanut Butter", if Chocolate didn't sound better.

But, chocolate is another of my favorite foods, and it's just so wonderful that two of my favorite foods happen to be such a brilliant pair.

And now, you too can have your fill of peanutty-chocolatey goodness without the chemicals and sugar in Reese's peanut butter cups, or store-bought chocolate peanut butter!

Creamy Chocolate Peanut Butter

Makes about 1 to 1 1/2 cups

2 cups peanut butter

1 tbsp. Coconut oil

3-4 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1 oz. dark chocolate 

1-2 tbsp. agave syrup (more or less depending on desired sweetness)

Grind peanuts and coconut oil in food processor until it forms a coarse paste. Add remaining ingredients and continue to process until completely smooth. The peanuts will go through phases--

1) coarse crumbs, like sand

2) a thick, coarse paste, like play doh mixed with sand (yum, right?)

3) a giant ball, mostly smooth

4) the ball will melt down into a smooth, luscious dream come true

Refridgerate in an air-tight container ~2 weeks. Use your best judgement.

~~{~@ Danielle

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Salted Caramel Pretzel Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Soft Serve

Wow that title sure is a mouthful! Think of it as a warning about how you'll want to get as many mouthfuls of this bliss as possible.

The flavors and textures of this are mind-blowing. It's like a giant mouth party. And good news: eat your heart out; this concoction is guilt-free! On the contrary to "normal ice cream", this is loaded with fiber, vitamins, and protein.

The caramel extract is not really health food, so omit if you'd prefer, bit there's such a small amount in this and it add such fantastic flavor without all the sugars that I figure it is worth it.

Salted Caramel Pretzel Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Soft Serve
Makes 1 giant serving, 2 standard servings

2 Bananas, cut into chunks and frozen solid
2-3 Tbsp almond milk
1-2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1-2 Tbsp peanut butter
1/2 tsp caramel extract
1 handful pretzels, lightly crushed

1) Remove bananas from freezer and place in bed of frood processor. Process until very small crumbs.
2) Add almond milk, cocoa powder, peanut bitter, and caramel extract. Process again until a smooth soft serve has formed.
3) Add pretzel bits and whirl them into the mixture until evenly distributed
4) optional: return soft serve to freezer for 30 minutes to an hour to solidify a bit more, for more of an ice cream experience, and less of a soft serve one.

~~{~@  Danielle

The Best Creamy Peanut Butter

Okay, I know, I know, I know. Everyone and their uncle has seen a tutorial for one ingredient peanut butter. I don't know about you, but every time I tried the one ingredient variation, it turned out rather grainy.

As a girl who's grown up on Jiff- style peanut butter *hides behind hands* I've become accustomed to the silky smoothness and slight sweetness of highly processed peanut butter. So, I took on the challenge. Shown above is a picture of the peanut butter about 3/4 of the way through processing, as you can see, it still is quite grainy. If any [wackos] out there prefer crunchy or grainy peanut butter, feel free  process for a shorter amount of time, or stir in extra peanuts after processing is complete

The Best Peanut Butter
2 c. Dry Roasted Unsalted Peanuts
1 Tbsp. Coconut Oil
1 Tbsp. Agave Nectar
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
1 pinch salt

Process all ingrrdients an a strong food processor until desired consistancy is reached.
Store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to two weeks.
 

~Danielle