Butternut Squash with Couscous and Dried Fruit

I needed to use the butternut squash that I roasted the other day.  I didn't want to make a risotto, although I think that's what I should have done as I love winter squash risotto.  Instead, I was trying to find a soup that I could make.  I ended up settling on a recipe from VegWeb.com called Butternut Squash and Couscous.  This would be my first time making couscous.

I chopped the onions and minced the garlic and ginger.  Then, I sauteed them for a few minutes and added a fruit medley.  I was going to use a craisin/raisin blend, but I had a bag of mixed fruit that I needed to use.  It contained papayas, pineapples, raisins, and bananas (which I picked out).  (In hind sight, the fruit medley would have been perfect in a rice pudding.  Go figure that occurs to me now!)

I sauteed that mixture for a bit and then I added 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon allspice, and 1 teaspoon (at least) of freshly grated nutmeg.  I sauteed that for about 30 seconds and then added 2 1/2 cups of water and the couscous.

Since my butternut squash was roasted, I didn't need to complete the step to let it simmer until tender.  I thought I'd up the spices and add a few more to give it more of a sweet and savory type of taste.  I decided I didn't want it to be a thick pasta dish, but rather a creamy soup.  So, I added a handful of garbanzo beans, 1/4 cup of SO Delicious Coconut Milk Creamer, and about 2 cups of water.  The "soup" (very thick soup) turned out too sweet, not enough savory.

I ended up putting a squirt of Sriracha in my bowl and that helped, but it was still missing something.  So, I added 1 teaspoon of red curry paste and about a teaspoon of Sriracha to the pot.  That was more like it.  It's much better now.  However, in the future, I'll leave out the fruit all together.  I'm not a fruity soup person and would have never thought to add it before reading the recipe on VegWeb. I also didn't care for the minced ginger.  If it was grated, that would have been better.  The ginger flavor was too strong when biting into a small cube of ginger.

While I won't make this soup exactly the way I did today, I will try making a butternut squash soup again.  I love winter squashes.  I'm glad I experimented as it brings me closer to finding the exact spice ingredient combination that is perfect for me.

Today, it is cloudy with a temperature in the lower 50's with a wicked wind whipping around.  I took the girls for a walk at Lake Katherine today, which is our favorite place to walk.  However, I under-dressed because I'm thinking 50's, not 30's or 40's with the wind chill.  Brrrrr!  We only walked 1 mile and then came home.  (Our norm is 2 miles.)  I guess that 1-mile walk was enough to tucker the girls out, because here they are this afternoon.

Kobe is in the dog bed, which she OWNS and has actually pushed Jordan out of when Jordan had the "nerve" to lay in it the other day.  Jordan is in the rocker/recliner, which she owns. ha!

They've been in these positions for the last hour at least.  They need to rest up because tomorrow morning, we'll be back out there walking our 2-miles and I will be dressed more appropriately!

Lake Katherine

More Baking ... Vegetarian Dog Treats

So, I decided I wasn't quite finished baking tonight.  OK, I didn't have the energy to make a stir fry for myself for dinner, but I did have the energy to bake 3½ dozen doggie cookies for the girls.  

Yesterday, I ran out of dog food and gave the girls some garbanzo beans (they LOVED them), but then had a moment where I wondered if garbanzo beans were safe for dogs, so I went looking on the Internet.  Yes, garbanzo beans are safe for dogs, so next time I make them some rice as a supplement to their dry food, I'll throw in some garbanzo beans. :)  I actually like making different rice variations for the girls as a healthy, non-processed alternative to the dog food I normally buy.  Although, I do buy a brand that has no additives or preservatives, which is great!  

In the process, I found a recipe for dog cookies with banana, peanut butter, oatmeal, and parsley.  I found the recipe at the website for Whole Food Markets.  Here is the link:  Homemade Peanut Butter and Banana Dog Treats.

I had a couple of ripe bananas waiting to be used, so I thought what the heck? The cookies were fairly easy to make.  One substitution I made was I couldn't find oat flour at the store I went to, so I just picked up brown rice flour instead.  It worked well and the cookies look like the ones in the recipe photo.  No telling what it did to the taste, though.  I was a bit surprised that they had to bake for 40 minutes.  I made a double batch, but I'm sure some of my cookies were bigger than they should have been because I didn't get a full 4 dozen, but rather 3½ dozen.  The recipe states to store them in the fridge or freeze them.  Since I have 3 dogs (2 big, 1 little), I'm sure I won't have to worry about the cookies going bad.

I probably won't be making these every week, but it's a nice alternative to use up ripe bananas before they go bad. Plus, it's one of the few snacks that I will be giving my dogs that I know are wholesome, without preservatives or additives, are freshly made, and are healthy for them to eat.  All three of my dogs LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the cookies!