Roasted Butternut Squash Coconut Soup

I try really hard to pack lunch for Jeremy in the morning before work. Eating out in NY City every day can be not only expensive but really unhealthy! Not only is packing lunch a good savings but it gives you the ability to use your lunch hour for something fun too. When he doesn't have a pre-packed lunch one of the places he loves to go is Num Pang. Its a few subway stops from his work but they have one of the best bahn mi sandwiches in the city and they also have a soup that he just loves. We unfortunately don't know the recipe (and to be honest I haven't tried it since I work in NJ). But I did find a little info online about the ingredients though! The soup was listed as Roasted Butternut Squash Coconut Soup with Basil Croutons on a few Yelp reviews so that was was where I started.

Luckily I had a few cans of coconut milk sitting in my cabinet along with some fun herb cubes (that I keep meaning to post about! sorry) and a squash to roast. What could be easier? I asked a friend to bring over a crusty loaf of french bread and got to work... Roasting squash can be done one of two ways - either half the squash and scoop out of the skin after cooking or peel and cube before hand. It can be annoying to peel squash but I find that my oxo peeler actually does a great job and then I don't have to burn my hands when its out of the oven (I have to admit I never wait long enough!) I just sort of made this up as I went along but he was pretty happy with it. It wasn't exactly the same but it was a good start... I was hoping to get a chance to taste it so I could get a bit closer. but unfortunately it looks to not be on the menu any more.


keep reading for my recipe

Wine Braised Short Ribs

I have another stove top to crock pot recipe to share! This is one of my favorite ways to make dinner in the winter when coming home is often in the dark and I often am just not in the mood to get cooking. Starting on the stove top doesn't really speed up the cooking but it helps to get some of the fat out before you braise the ribs.  This helps to decrease some of the calories though to be honest this dish is far from diet friendly. Short ribs are however a delicious choice for a hearty, dinner and can be served many different ways. I find you can't go wrong with this simple but effective herbed wine braising liquid.

I first came to love short ribs when I visited David Burke's Townhouse with a friend. I easily found some attempts at the recipe online and went from there. This is a little less complicated and that's great when you have a million errands to run every weekend! I started this dish in the afternoon before I left to go out to the gym and then enjoyed them when I finally got around to sitting on the couch.