Soup & Sips

By Danielle Braff

Butternut Squash Thai Curry Soup

Makes 4 Servings

This creamy and aromatic dish will keep you contented this fall. It offers a thick coconut milk finish with the distinct flavors you’ll recognize from a classic Thai curry, says Aysegul Sanford, blogger and owner of the food blog Foolproof Living.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste

4 cups cubed butternut squash (from 1 medium butternut squash)

1 cup red lentils

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

5 cups vegetable broth

½ cup full-fat coconut milk

1 teaspoon sriracha sauce, plus more to taste

½ cup cilantro, chopped

Sliced red onion, optional

Heat vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, ginger and garlic. Cook, frequently stirring, until onion is translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the red curry paste and cook for another minute. Add cubed butternut squash, red lentils, salt, black pepper and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil over medium heat, turn down to medium-low, and let simmer for 20 to 25 minutes or until squash is cooked. Check if done by inserting a knife into one of the cubes (if it comes out easily, squash is done). Turn off the heat and use an immersion blender to blend the soup. Stir in coconut milk and sriracha. Garnish with cilantro and, if desired, sliced red onion.

 

Apple Cider Pumpkin Soup

Makes 4 servings

“For me, this soup is the essence of fall and growing up in small-town America,” says chef Christopher Koetke, corporate executive chef at Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition North America. “Squash or pumpkin from the farmers market, apples and cider from the U-Pick, and bacon from the local butcher shop: It all works per­fectly together and takes me back to my childhood.”

Ingredients

3 cups fresh apple cider

¼ pound sliced bacon, chopped

1 cup finely chopped onion

4 cups chicken stock

3 cups roasted pumpkin pulp or unsweetened canned pumpkin

¾ teaspoon rubbed sage

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

¾ teaspoon MSG

Unsweetened whipped cream, optional

Diced dried apples, optional

 

Place apple cider in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Continue to boil until the cider is reduced by half. Remove from heat and reserve. In a large saucepan, cook bacon over mod­erate heat until browned. Remove bacon from the saucepan, reserving ba­con fat. Add onion to the saucepan and cook until softened and lightly browned. Add chicken stock, pump­kin pulp, sage, salt, black pepper and MSG. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Care­fully puree in a blender until smooth. Transfer to a clean saucepan and bring to a boil. Serve as is, or garnish with a dollop of unsweetened whipped cream and a sprinkle of diced dried apples, if desired.

 

Chai Hot Buttered Rum

Makes 3 servings

Ingredients

1 chai tea bag
⅔ cup dark brown sugar
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
¼ cup honey
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
8 ounces spiced rum
Cinnamon sticks

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Steep a tea bag in water for 3 to 5 minutes. In a medium bowl, blend the brown sugar, butter, honey, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add rum and the hot chai. Stir until the sugar mixture dissolves. Pour into mugs, and garnish with cinnamon sticks.

 

Shirley Ginger

Makes 1 serving

Ed Eiswirth, director of beverage operations for Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd., describes this new zero-proof cocktail as a Shirley Temple for foodies. We tasted it and totally agree.

Ingredients

1 ounce grenadine

1 ounce orange juice

1 ounce lime juice

3 ounces ginger ale

Stir together, and garnish with a cherry and a lime wedge.

 

Fall is a scrumptious season that heralds a change of wardrobe, recipes and activities; it’s a time to shed the old to make way for the new. This season creates the ideal setting for a sense of warmth and reflection.

Check out these delicious fall recipes and more found in our latest issue of The Girlfriend From AARP magazine in the Relax & Radiate Crate (Volume 3, Fall 2022).

Photo Credits: Ted + Chelsea Cavanaugh (food stylist: Spencer Richards; prop stylist: Marina Bevilacqua) (2) and Jenny Huang (food stylist: Sean Dooley; prop stylist: Stephanie Yeh)