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April 2009 Trip to Arizona

07Apr09
Picture above: Taken close to 2,706 feet high

Close to 2,706 feet high

I’m glad I had cached The Today’s Hits of the Slacker Radio on my BlackBerry. We drove around Arizona for four days and the music certainly made the 1,775 km drive a lot more enjoyable.

I didn’t have much expectations of Arizona. I was blown away by the vast changes of rock formation and vegetation in this state. The 2,000+ feet, 3-hour hike up to Camelback Mountain in Phoenix was priceless (as seen above). Then on the same day, we drove to Tortilla Flat and quick change of altitude and landscape reminds me of the Rockies in British Columbia.

When leaving Phoenix en route to the Grand Canyon, we drove up 5,700 feet to Prescott Valley area. The vast changes of geography on highway 17 and 93 made you realize how insignificant our day to day life problems are compared to nature.


View Larger Map

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Finally made it to the Mandarin!

28Dec08

As the creator of “Forks or Chopsticks” blog, I finally persuded my friends and my old high school buddy visiting from Orlando to try out the family favourite “Mandarin” buffet at the St Catharines.

Boy oh boy, I can’t even give it either a fork or chopsticks. Can’t understand why people like it so much. The better plates are shrimp and snow peas stir fry and bean sprouts.

Suprisingly, the desserts taste much better than the entrées. I had almond biscuit, bread pudding, tapioca pudding, brownies and creme caramel. Not sure if it’s worth $26.99.

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Christmas dinner with 14 guests was a hit!

13Dec08

I set up the Christmas tree on Friday night. It’s lid up and decorated with ornaments. Though I have injured my shoulder/back/thigh when I was lifting the heavy armchair (the brown chair as seen on the picture below) in preparation for tonight’s party.

Update: The dinner was a hit. It went well into 2am. We did have a small incidence of smoky oven. But at least we didn’t trigger the smoke detector like our neighours did (close to midnight). Otherwise the food was well done. Turkey is always juicy and tender (thanks to Brandy!), Katherine’s deep fried dumpling was fantastic. I’m glad my butternut squash soup and philo pastries turn out very well.

Thanks everyone for bringing the food!

Chez nous

Group picture

Roasted turkey with brandy

Roasted turkey with brandy

Tonight’s menu:

Entrees
1) Roasted Turkey (with Brandy)
2) Steamed baby carrots and green beans
3) Scallop potato
4) Collard Greens

Appetizers
1) Butternut Squash Soup
2) Flio Pastry (Smoked Salmon, Spanish, Feta Cheese)
3) Olives, artichokes.
4) Warmed Brie with cranberry focassa
5) Homemade deep fried dumplings
6) Special salad

Desserts
1) Croquembouche
2) Francois’ mean mean Chocolate Brownie
3) Carol’s rice cake

Philo pastry with smoked salmon and prosciutto

Philo pastry with smoked salmon and prosciutto

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Day four of $25 Challenge. We made dumplings!

08Nov08

Dumpling

On day four, we need to find new ways to stretch that $25. Fortunately with the Chinese diet, we can make dumplings at home. The cost is $1.96 for the off the shelve pastry dough. We bought around $6 of the minced pork and 50 cents worth of chives from the supermarket. And we made close to 80 pieces of dumpling out of the ingredients. so it’s about 11 cents a dumpling.
We were watching Grey’s Anatomy while we were chucking out the dumplings. We finished it before the end of the episode and I even managed to go to the gym that night.

We steamed the dumpling and bring them to work for lunch. Served with a dazzle of soya sauce and sesame oil and it was quite good.

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Third night of the $25 Challenge

29Oct08

Latest update: We have two people voted themselves off the Challenge. Both of them worked in offices where they believe in giving back to their employees by pampering with a lot of free breakfast and luncheon from the firm and it was definitely exceeded the $25 budget.

I also went to an art auction last night. Although I only had two spoonful of o’dourves so I am still in the Challenge. My roommate is having congee for the past few days and she even found two pieces of lamb chop for just $1.96! So it works out to be $1.50 per meal including the Dijon mustard and the 5 herbes des provence.

My snack

The biggest challenge I have is I am starting to get cranky. I think the lack of sugar and sweets from my diet is making me agitated. I’m used to have either a Starbucks chocolate chip cookie a day or KitKat or some sort of chocolate a day. Of course these are well over my budget and I am only rationed with 4 squares of Ikea chocolate and 5 pieces of Ikea biscuits (as seen on the above picture).

Only 4 more days left, will see how we will all hold out.

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Preparing for the $25 Challenge - allowance for food for a week

26Oct08

I was inspired by the $25 Challenge I read from a MSN Money Central blog post. The Illinois food bank did a challenge to simulate how the life would be like to be living on food stamps - $25 a week just for food.

Six of our close friends in Toronto, Canada, agreed to participate in this social challenge. Starting Monday, we will commence our challenge.
Calvin helped me to plan with an Excel spreadsheet and I had my breakfast planned out and I spent a few hours on the Sunday night preparing for my lunches from Monday to Wednesday. I will continue to my experience via Twitter.

  • I know my sweet spot is chocolate. Since I’m not a coffee drinker, so chocolate is my caffeine source. I bought a 99 cents Hazelnut chocolate and 99 cents gingerbread cookies from Ikea today. I have meticulously separated them equally for this week. I got exactly 4 squares of chocolate and 5 pieces of cookies.

Let’s see how we all hold out. We are aiming to have a potluck on Wednesday or Friday to cheer up everyone.

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Rack of Lamb (a la provençal)

13Oct08

 

Rack of Lamb

Ingredients

1/8 C fresh parsley
1/8 C fresh oregano
1/8 C fresh rosemary
1/8 C fresh thyme
1/2 C fresh breadcrumbs
1 1/2 T garlic, minced
1/4 C + 2T olive oil
1 T Dijon mustard
salt & pepper to taste
1 rack of lamb (about 2 - 2 1/2 lbs)

Steps:

Pre-heat oven to 450F

In the bowl of a food processor, combine all ingredients, except mustard and 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and process until well mixed, but still slightly crumbly. In other words, don’t turn it in mush! Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil until just below smoking. Season lamb rack with salt and pepper and quickly brown by cooking for about 3-4 minutes per side. Remove lamb from skillet and place in an oiled roasting pan. Carefully brush mustard over the section just over the top, underside and sides of chops, leaving bones exposed. Gently pat the herb/ breadcrumb mixture over the mustard. Cook for 10-12 minutes or until the meat reaches an internal temperature of about 130F. Allow to rest 10 minutes before carving. To serve lamb chops, slice between bones

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Home-style Roasted Tender+Juicy Turkey

12Oct08

This recipe can be substituted by a chicken
Ingredients
10-15 lbs of whole turkey
2 carrots, 2 small onions
4 stalks of celery, 4 cloves of garlic
3 tablespoons each of salt and pepper
1/4 cup of Brandy *** Special recipe

Prepartion Time
3-4 Hours or 1.25 hours for chicken

Directions

1. Preparation for turkey/ chicken
Clean turkey and pat dry with kitchen paper towel. Take out the package from inside the cavity and set aside. Rub turkey with salt & pepper and brandy. Put it back into the fridge until ready for baking. Marinate the turkey overnight.

Mix 3 table spoons each of salt and pepper together.

2. Vegetables for roasting
2 carrots, 2 small onions, 4 stalks of celery, 4 cloves of garlic (crushed only, no need to chop!!!)
Chop all vegetables into small dice and place at the bottom of the baking pan. Put about 2 cups of water into the pan or enough to cover the vegetables.

3. Baking Process
Preheat oven to 450F for 15 mins. Once turkey is in, lower temperature to 375F.
For the first 15 mins breast downwards, then turn the turkey over and bake for 1.5 hrs.

During the baking period use melted butter to brush on the surface of the turkey (approximately every ½ hour).

4. For sauce
Drain all veggies & juice into a saucepan. Mix the “turkey sauce” (gravy) into the sauce pan, add red wine (approximate ¼ cup) and cook over low heat until the mixture is a little thick. Taste the sauce to see if you need to add more salt. Drain the sauce into a bowl and serve with turkey.

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Flickr: 2 people count this photo as a favorite

24Apr08

Wo-oh! This is my living room looking out to the dining room. Thanks to my roomie’s choice of the blue. We picked it because it feels like french country, like in the south of france. Paired with our lovely furniture selection. I’m very surprised this picture got 2 favorites on Flickr. Yes, that’s me taking the picture in a lazy summer afternoon.
Flickr

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Winner of IronChef Toronto (again!)

07Oct07

Thanksgiving DinnerFirst Thanksgiving Dinner at my place. It was a success!

The guest loves my rack of lamb (a la Provençal)

Thilo said “I am the Iron Chef winner at this first round in Toronto”

Benedict said “It’s the best lamb I’d ever had outside of France”

It’s a nice and happy Thanksgiving and everyone is leaving very well fed!

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Found the source of Pusateri’s Pastry

23Sep07

I read a review on Toronto Life a few months ago at my doctor’s office and it mentioned a french pastry shop on St Clair West. I went there on the weekend and found out that Patachou supplies all the pastries to Pusateri’s!

Check out their location at:
- 1120 Yonge St (@ MacPherson)
- 835 St. Clair Ave E (East of Bathwurst)

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Clafouti: FOUND in T.O.: a très chic french pastry on Queen West!

13Apr07

Clafouti

Clafouti

Amazing French Pastry shop on the Queen West in Toronto.

Remember my previous post calling for my pastry substitute in TO?

  • Best Pastry Place (so far) - Clafouti on 915 Queen St West
    416-603-1935
    Closed on Mondays. Cash Only.

I think I have found it! They have my favorite french pastry, the Clafouti! I had the Pomegranate & Raspberry Clafouti and it was as good as the fruit Clafoutis I had in Cannes.

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FOUND in T.O.: a Super-duper Organic Food Supermarket!

11Apr07

Today I was doing my excursion on DanForth Street in Toronto. Suprise suprise. Without the help of internet or any referrals, I found a supermarket called “The Big Carrot“. It reminds me of the award winning development of Capers on West 4th. I immediately recognize the close resemblance to the architecture in Vancouver and I know it’s going to be an organic food supermarket!

I had a huge craving for my Miso paste for my seasoning and I found that in Big Carrot! So does my Chai Latte Milk Mix!

  • Best Organic Food Supermarket (so far) - Big Carrot on Danforth
    348 Danforth Avenue
    416-466-2129

March 10: WANTED in T.O.: My favorite spots for Coffee Shop, Pastry, Organic Food Supermarket.

After settling into the great vast city of Toronto, I am on the search to fill up the following favorite spots:

  • Best Coffee Shop in Vancouver - JJ Beans on Main and 16th
  • Best Pastry Place - Ganache on Homer St
  • Organic Food Supermarket - Capers on West 4th.

Now calling for the cool hang out places in T.O. Hope to explore the city and have these spots filled up.

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Post Trip Discussions

30Dec06

Excerpt from a MSN conversation with my “twin” brother:

My brother asked:

  • “and what did you learn about yourself [on this trip to France]?”

I said:

  • you can’t plan too much in life…
  • life is full of unknowns and unknown might not be too mysterious. It can be meaningful, and can quickly be turned into a more manageable known fact.
  • Most importantly: I can make friends just about any where in the world, even with language barrier!
  • Photos speak for a 1000 words:
  • Jose and Monica at Pont du Gard from the region Galicia in Spain, bordering Portugal.

  • Mato at Barcelona from Milan

  • Yellowknife’s Karin from my class in Montpellier (right next to me)

  • German Hubert + my Host Family Mother: Marie Francin at Montpellier

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Je tu souhaite un super Joyeux Noël!

25Dec06
Christmas
All the best in your Christmas of this year.
 Have a super Merry Christmas + Best Wishes in 2007 as well!

My travel (Montpellier, Nice, Nimes, Pont du Gard,
Toulouse, Cannes, Grasse, Monte Carlo, Paris, Barcalona, and Prague) pics:
 http://pixs.elliotng.com
Elliot
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Food. Food. More Food.

05Dec06

It has been 3 weeks since I left Vancouver. Thanks god I missed all the rain and snow. (Sorry folks in Vancouver). There hasn’t been a day in France where I had a bad meal.

The food in France is exceptional. Just about anywhere in the town you can find good food, shall I thank the authors at Lonely Planet (France) as well?

The Adventure

This is “Andouillette with Fries” I tasted in Monte Carlo. It’s a speciality dish in France.
It’s pork intestine. Guess, the French could be like the Cantonese in terms of the exotic food. The bad taste of the intestine is suprisngly not there thanks to the strong pepper seasonings and the sauce.

I also ordered the Rock Fish Stock Soup to start. It’s the best 16 Euros I spent on soup!

A Suprise

Dim Sum Plate in Nice! Can you believe it? The round dumpling located at the “4-o’clock” of the steamer is a dumpling I like a lot, but even I couldn’t find that in Hong-couver!

The sweets

Of course the day cannot end without desssert! It’s fruit Clafoutis. It’s a different rendition of the one I had at Provence Marinaside in Vancouver. It’s made out of eggs (like quiche but sweet taste) with lots of exotic fruits and a light tart base. On the topm it’s like creme brulee, it’s burnt a bit. It’s exceptional. Thanks to the recommendation from Lonely Planet.

The Snacks:

We brought this Smoked Salmon cone at Monoprix (I think it’s like a supermarket giant that sells just a bit of everything. It’s like a upscale Safeway with London Drugs and Winners all in one!). Inside the cone, it’s a pate of Smoked Salmon topped with some cream and the gello with chieves.

A Regular Lunch in Nice

We went to a nicely decorated place on Boulvard de Jean Medicine in Nice. I guess the French will call this place “sympthatic”. It’s the Combo I picked to satisify my eggs craving. It’s a Sandwich of American Style and with the toxically delicious White Chocolate Raspberry Tarte!

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Mounting to the TOP of Millau to see the Viaduc du Millau

05Dec06

We were crazy last night. We were at Aix-en-Provence at 6:00 pm and Aix is about 1,5 hour away from Montpellier, which is where I need to return my Peugout 407 (the car I rented from Sixt). And I decided to go and see Viaduc de Millau, connecting between Clermont-Ferrand and Béziers. It’s part of the 340km highway of A75. This viaduc is an architecture gems because it’s the highest BRIDGE ever built on the world (see the link, because of the difference in measurement) with 270 m tall and over the 2.46 km long, the architect Sir Norman Foster ingenously uses ONLY 7 piers!
We drove there and it was on the TOP of the mountain in the Langudoc Region and the 2-lane highway was pitch dark and it was quite scary drive up to the mountain with 800m attitude! After about 1.5 hours, we were finally on the TOP! It was magifnicient! The Viaduc is not too well lit, but you can see how SMALL the lights are in the village below! Very windy and the weather changes quite rapidly as well at the region that high!

It was too dark to go to the visitor’s centre. We just stopped at the rest area and took a picture of the toll booth. Took a video of driving along the Viaduc, and will post on YouTube soon.

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A bit of hassle in France, but it’s all part of the cultural experience.

30Nov06

[Updated 3rd time on Dec 6] After all the nice food and wine and architecture in France, it came with some of the cultural drama. Believe me, it’s really a drama of life.

I am very grateful to live in Canada and enjoy so much of multiculturalism. Most people in Montpellier I met are quite nice and politem, but from time to time, the mindset of some challenge me of why I am taking this language.

First Attempt: I took a 2-hour train from Montpellier to Toulouse and another 2 hours bus to the surburbs of Toulouse called Blagnac, wanting to see the Airbus Tour of the biggest and supposedly the very fuel efficient plane in the world - A380. My fasination of this A380 started from the Economist article I read 2 years ago.

After all the travel, the bus driver of the 2nd bus was his first day of that route and he didn’t know where the Aeroconstallation bus stop is! He dropped me off at where people view the takeoff runway of A380 (thanks to its size, it needs a longer runway). I was in the middle of no where and I tried to call the office (of which the line was always busy! I tried for more than 5 times before arrival on that Saturday).

In the end, the administration of Airbus Visit is unwilling to authorize me to join the tour, because I hold a passport outside of the EU and it normally takes 2 business days to clear security (and I didn’t contact them successfully in time before my visit, it only gave them 30 hours of notice) ! Maybe I look like a terrorist! Just k/d.

New Development: Added on Dec 5: On the positive note, I am going there again tomorrow and will take the train from Montpellier to Toulouse again and hopefully it will be a better experience.

Latest Development: Added on Dec 6: Just got back from the AirBus Visit in Toulouse again for my second attempt. Guess life has positive karma coming back at you. Or life is always playing with you. In the end, the conceigere at AirBus Visit saw my passport (United Kingdom of Great Britian). And she thought I am from Great Britain and she said she will classify me into the GB catagory for her references! LOL! What the hassle so in the end, I am an “EU” citizen!  AirBus Visit is a MUST SEE for those avion franatics and also for regular people who are curious about science. It’s an art of Science, Arts, Business, and Logistics!

Recommendation: If you want to visit AirBus Visit without a car, here is how you go there:

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A nice suprise of the FOOD I found in Montpellier

30Nov06

The biggest suprise I found in Montpellier is the availablity and the quality of Asian food. Of course, it can’t be compared to the Vancouver/Toronto level, but in this town very remote from the rest of Asia, I had a pleasant Wonton Noodle Soup and a Pork Spring Roll in this place called

  • Shanghai Fast Food
  • 13, Rue du Verdun  04 67 92 07 58

Yesterday, my classmate Carrie and I wandered around the street and found a very “sympathique” (I had to use this french word that means nothing in English!) takeout Thai places. Things are measured in 100g, and I ordered a 100g of Pad Thai and another 100 g of the rice vermicelli. It was divine! Very good quality in that place, aibiet the service was a bit chaotic.Tomorrow would be my first time driving in France on the Autoroute! It would not be as exciting as the Autobahn, but still I am driving in Europe!

    • Grasse
    • Nice
    • Monaco
    • Aix-en-Provence
    • Marseilles [Bouillabaisse]

Highlights for Bouillabaisse!It’s all started with my first love at Provence Marinaside in Yaletown, Vancouver. Since my first tasting of Bouillabaisse (a tomato stew with fresh seafood and herbs cooked in the Provençal style), my passion for seafood has only grown stronger by the day. Marseilles is the Mecca of Bouillabaisse. This 30€ Bouillabaisse is complimented with a lovely terrace at Le Mérou Bleu on rue St-Saëns. (1)

Restaurant tasting calendar:

  • Nov 20 - Dec 8: Montpellier
    • Nov 24 - 26: Sete, Carcassonne, Toulouse
    • Dec 1 (Friday)
        • Montpeller (1:30 pm) —- 4 hr —-> Cannes (530 - 10 pm)
        • — .5 hr —-> Grasse (1030+) [Hotel]
    • Dec 2 (Saturday)
    • Dec 3 (Sunday)
    • Dec 4 (Monday)
        • Nice — 2 hr —> Aix-en-Provence (1100-1300) —- 1/2 hr —-> Marseilles [Bouillabaisse] (1) (130-700) — 2 hr —> Montpellier (@ 900)
    • Dec 9 - 16: Paris
      • Dec 12 - 14: Barcelona
    • Dec 21: Depart Paris for Vancouver.

Stay tune for more updates. If you have any suggestions for restaurants in region, feel free to send me a message.

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The things I miss the most…

27Nov06

Suprisingly enough, the 3 things I miss the most:

  1. My own fast computer with FireFox and an ENGLISH keyboard.
  2. Starbucks’ Chai Latte* or my beloved Tall Iced Passion Tea!
  3. The all CANADIAN full breakfast with EGGS + Sasuages + Fries + Toasts

*(okay, I am not going to be picky for a Soy Chai) 

I adore the french food, but after having soo much fine food and fine wine, I just want something simple. I paid up to 16 Euros on Sunday morning just to have eggs for breakfast. It’s a bit difficult to just have a baugette/toast and jam in the morning. I guess I am more Canadian than I though I am. The Iced Tea I ordered was so small that I can finish the drink in 20 seconds. I am very thirsy as I type right now. But I can “only” get Fanta and Oranagina but NOT an ICED Passion Tea!

The internet is another thing I wasn’t expected. Don’t get me wrong, the internet speed is fast here. But you need to line up for like 30 minutes to this “best” internet cafe near the train station. Best is because this computer is using XP not Windows 98 and the graphic card is fast enough that there’s no ghost effect when I drag the windows. When I was in Toulouse’s computer shop, I almost wanted to buy the white MacBook to get over with this line up. Man, everyday is like that!

Enough of rant. Other than the 3, I really enjoy the school. And I found out recently that I was assigned to the most advanced class in the french school. Everyday in class, we were debating and discussing many philoshipical topics like

  • “Whether there should be a search for the best gene in the world?”
  • “What do you think the world should be like in the future?”
  • “What are your sentiments on the future revolution at your own country?”

All of these are in french and it was a superb mental exercise for myself!

 

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A fun night at the Carcassonne, a UNESCO site in France

26Nov06
The night view of La Cité in Carcassonne, France

After taking a non-TGV class SNCF train to Carcassone, marching up about 10 minutes to the mountain of Carcasoone, I finally arrived to this absolutely gorgeous site called: “La Cite”. This city was built and lived by the Romans, the Goals in the 12th century. The nightview was magnificant.

I had a very nice Casserole at this restaurant Le Restaurant Des Musees on the village for dinner. The Carsserole is the Languedoc-Roussillon, France region, which is specialized with duck and sasuage. It’s a very filling dish but very homey. The server was super kind and very patient with my broken spoken French.

Restaurant name:

Le Restaurant Des Musees

17 Rue du Grand Puit BP 156 11000 Carcasonne

Tel: 06 16 12 09 45

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Second day in Montpellier. Finally found the Internet Cafe!

21Nov06

The view from my room 

This is how the downtown looks like

After fighting over the jetlag, my second day in Montpellier of this small very old town in the south of France was being very plesant. I took the TGV for the first time from Gare de Lyon, Paris to here for about 3 hours. The scenery along the way was like a dream, everywhere you look outside from the windows was like mountains covered with greens with a lot of farm fields.

The family I am stayed with is a very nice one. The dad is born in Quebec but speaks very little English and the mom who likes to argue a lot is a civil servant. I lived in a 17th century old apartment with the orginial fireplace and ceiling decoration. It’s like watching a french movie. The room I stayed in was the biggest bedroom I have lived in before. It’s about 150 square feet with a nice comfy double bed with a nice fireplace and desk. The ceiling is like 15+ feet high with an equally tall windows, with the old wood shutter outside.

Staying in this town only with 230,000 people, the advantage is that only a few people could speak english which is a perfect for me to learn my french. Suprisingly, my 2-year french is just sufficient for survival. I just need to explain things a few more time. The family I stayed with is fa-tas-tic! We had a 2-hour dinner last night but we talked for more than 1:45 hr. I went to the class for the first time today, classmates are super awesome. I managed to pass the test and I am taking my conversation and writing class.

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Workout. Food. St. Jacobs in Toronto

12Nov06

Food tour episode 1:

Walking on a brisk winter morning in Toronto to the Hart House’s gym, my sleepy soul was refreshed by the 30-min cardio I did, as well as the company of the infamous “Rainy Men” song.

Right after the workout, I had a craving for mushroom and my palette was indulged by this little place on Yonge St called “Not just Noodles” cafe. The price is like 70% of Vancouver’s  and the food is not very oily and with little MSG.

Food tour episode 2:

Venturing to West of Toronto in the Kitchener/ Waterloo area, passing by with all the blue-chip company’s headquarters on the Highway 401, we arrived to this small town in St. Jacobs. Guess what I saw first? The first Home Hardware store in Canada.

Finished Brooms on display at the Hamel Broom.

This charming little town house the Mennonites people, which is similiar to the Amish people on the Simple Life show. Housed with many local hand crafts and art and craft stores, we came across a store called Hamel Broom just specializing on the old-fashioned brooms. Later on, we routed back to Markham and had dinner at the pretty cool cantonese style congee noodle house called the Congee Wong.

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Yoshoku Ya’s Hamburg Steak

09Nov06

Yoshoku Ya is one of my favorite Japanese restaurants in Vancouver. Their ambience isc carried over from a traditional German restaurant. It’s cozy and homey. Price is very reasonable and it offers one of a kind Japanese Western food in Vancouver.

Tonight’s craving was the Hamburg Steak. Nice, juicy, and tender with the Japanese BBQ sauce on it served with colourful carrots, peas, and potatoes.

Other highly recommended dish is “Chicken Cream Korokee”

  • Niche: western style Japanese food (one of a kind). German Restaurant Decor, Hamburg Steak, Schnitzel-like Stuff Chicken
  • (604) 687-4970
  • Tuesdays closed
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Butternut Squash Soup

05Nov06

Butternut Squash Soup

1 medium butternut squash (about 2 1/4 pounds)
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger, optional
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 cups chicken broth
1-2 cups water, as needed
Salt and pepper to taste
Sour cream and parsley for garnish

Cut squash in half lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds. Arrange the halves cut side down in roasting pan that has been sprayed with nonstick vegetable oil spray. Bake squash in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until very tender. Set aside to cool. When the squash is completely cool, scoop the flesh from the skin. While the squash is baking, cook the onion and the ginger in the butter in a saucepan, over moderately low heat, for 5 minutes or until the onion is softened, Add the broth and simmer the mixture for 10 minutes, covered. Add the squash pulp to the sauce pan. Transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor, in batches, and puree until smooth. Add enough water to achieve the desired consistency, and salt and pepper to taste. Return the soup to the sauce pan and cook over moderate heat until it is hot. Garnish each portion with the heaping teaspoon of low-fat sour cream.

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About

I’m an artistic economist. It’s kinda an oxymoron. I am good with numbers but I am also in tune with my taste in art. Love to bring my camera and go restaurant hopping. When I save enough for my trips, I will spend on short trips and take pictures of food as well as architecture, nature, or just the good old fashion portraits.