30 Photos | Day 10: Season

My Garden in the Snow | Chesham Bois | 22.01.2013 |


Winter. When snow looks so beautiful, how can anyone really love any season more than winter?

In England we get an occasional summer day where a beaming sun seems to bring everything to life, or that feeling after the rains of Autumn make the golden leaves glisten, but as weather goes, we seem to get more than our fair share of miserable nothing days. So as seasons go we can pretty much expect rain in all four of them, but in winter, when the temperature is just right, that rain we so love to hate, turns in to the flurry of beautiful white snow.

It's that feeling when the air is so cold it hurts your cheeks to walk down the road, when your fingers go numb even when they are tucked inside your pockets, that's the feeling that I love.

Hello Winter, welcome back!

30 Photos | Day 3: Cozy Place

Home | Chesham Bois | 03.10.2015 |

Is there any place better than home? I think we all know the answer to that one, and no more so than on a chilly autumn evening, when it is finally acceptable to light the fire for the first time since last winter.

So here it is, my cozy place! Just picture me tucked up on the sofa with a cuppa in one hand and a cat on my lap, in front of the roaring wood burning fire and it feels like winter already.

Butternut Squash & Gruyere Soup

THIS. IS. HEAVEN.

I will not lie to you when I say this, but this soup is honestly to die for. It is the perfect combination of silky cheese, strong earthy tones of squash and a kick of smoked paprika. All in all, it is well worth the effort of making as I am yet to find a fresh soup on the supermarket shelves that tickles my winter taste buds as this recipe does.

I last made this recipe for my 21st birthday dinner and all of my extended family requested the recipe once they had experienced its greatness (if I do say so myself), so here it is for all of you too!

Served with cream and ground black pepper

Prep Time - 25mins
Cooking Time - 30mins
Cost - £6.20 
(all ingredients from Tesco)

Makes - 1.5lts/ serves 4-6
Calories per portion - 538kcal

Ingredients

80g Butter
1 Large Butternut Squash
195g Smoked Gruyere Cheese
1x 400ml Can of Coconut Milk
2x Chicken Stock Cubes (made up to 850ml)
1 Large Onion
4 Garlic Cloves 
1tsp Black Pepper
Salt (to taste/ approx 1/2tsp) 
1/2tsp Nutmeg
1/2tsp Smoked Paprika



Method 

Cut the Onion and Garlic finely and cook in a large saucepan with the Butter until softened (approx 5-8 minutes)

Add black Pepper, Nutmeg and Smoked Paprika to the mix and cook for a further 5 minutes

Peel the squash, and cut into cubes (approx 2x2cm), removing the pips inside. Add the cubes to the onion mix and cook for 5 minutes

Make up the chicken stock in a jug using boiling water (or as instructed on the packet), and add to the saucepan. The squash should almost be all covered by the mix.

Leave to simmer and cook until the squash is soft through, this should take about half an hour on a medium to low heat.
 
Taking the saucepan from the heat, use a hand blender or food processor to blitz the mixture until smooth. 

Add the can of coconut milk to the pan and blitz again until the mixture is smooth once more.

Grate the cheese before putting the pan back on to the heat. Once you have out your saucepan back on the low heat, stir in the grated cheese until melted and combined with the mixture.

Add salt and pepper to taste and serve! You may even decide to serve alongside a slice of rustic crusty bread from your local delicatessen and a drizzle of double cream if you so desire to indulge in such luxury!

Enjoy!

Image From How Sweet Eats - served with spicy chickpeas, cream and chives

Adapted to English measures from the wonderful How Sweet Eats blog.