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What is a Balaboosta?
Balaboosta (n.)(bah-lah-b00-sta) A Yiddish term meaning the perfect housewife, homemaker, wonderful mother, cook, and gracious hostess. She does it all and does it well.
I make simple food with easy recipes and I like to try new things. My family and friends love my cooking and always ask me to share, with them, what I know about food, flavor, and technique.

I'm not a professional chef and I've had no formal culinary training. What I know and do in the kitchen comes from three women...Nana, Grandma Della, and Rose, my mom. Each one of them knew more about putting a meal on the table than any fancy chef in a white hat. They were the ultimate Balaboostas.

What I offer you is a lifetime of experience in the kitchen with my compliments and theirs. I hope they'd be proud. I will bring you my recipes as I make them with photos of the actual food I'm preparing. I'm no professional photographer either but I promise, my food will speak for itself in every picture.

The food on my table isn't stacked in a trendy tower.
Instead, my food is stacked with flavor and full of my passion for cooking. So please come in, make yourself comfortable, and enjoy.

To see amazing detail in any photo just click on it!
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Disclaimer: While most of my recipes are "Jewish Style", I do sometimes cook with pork. This might have been a great disappointment to some but my grandmothers knew that I live in modern world. I light Shabbos candles religiously but I have to admit...I do not keep a Kosher home.

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Balaboosta's Best Butternut Squash Soup


Today I'll be making my famous Butternut Squash Soup. I make many delicious soups and you may have read about Jewish Penicillin - My Grandma's Chicken Soup which is a sure crowd pleaser. This butternut squash soup will also have them asking for seconds of this rich and luscious creamy comfort food with a kick!

Ingredients...

  • 2 lbs butternut squash peeled, seeded, cut in 2" chunks
  • 2 tablespoons peanut, canola, or olive oil (your preference)
  • 1 heaping cup coarsely chopped onion
  • 1/2 to 1 head of garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
  • 1/2 cup sliced carrot
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 small Jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped.
  • 1/4 cup cream (or half and half)
  • dash of cayenne pepper Optional to taste.
  • 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth (your preference)(note: if you are using broth that you've made yourself, prepare the broth the day before so you can refrigerate and skim the fat before adding it to this soup.)

Here's how you do it...

  1. Heat your pot on medium .
  2. Put the 2 tablespoons oil in the heated pot.
  3. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally for 4 minutes or until the onion becomes translucent.
  4. Add the garlic and continue to cook, stirring occasionally for another minute.
  5. Add the carrot, cumin, salt, and black pepper and cook, stirring occasionally for another minute.
  6. Then add the squash, jalapeño, and broth.
  7. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and allow to simmer for 20 minutes until the squash is tender.
  8. Remove from the heat and puree using a submersion blender.
  9. Return to low heat and stir in the cream.
  10. Taste - Adjust the salt and add the cayenne if you want to add a touch more heat.

Serve and enjoy.

Garnish suggestions - I like using canned French fried onion rings but crushed salted crackers work equally as well.

How to: Freeze Soup...

Portion soup 2 full ladles per zip lock sandwich bag.
Remove excess air from the bag as you seal it.
Lay these soup bags flat on a cookie sheet.
Slide the pan into your freezer overnight.
Next day remove the pan and put the individual serving bags into a larger gallon size freezer bag. Store frozen soup for months. Enjoy a hot bowl of soup at a moments notice. Anytime.

2 comments:

Kathie Valdes said...

Hi, I just tried your fried sweet potatoes. They were similar to sweet potato oven fries I make. Mine have a mixture of paprika and chili powder sprinkled over them after baking in oven til done and sugar has caramelized a bit. Quite a nice taste...sweet and savory! I enjoyed your recipe very much, also, the garlic and cumin went well together. Both ingredients are used in my kitchen frequently.
I was reading your butternut squash soup recipe. Again very much like mine, but with no "heat". I tend to add a touch of nutmeg to my regular batch or sometimes some curry. But the crowning glory to the soup,,or so I'm told, are the homemade garlic croutons used for garnish. Happy to pass along recipe if youre interested. All the best, Kathie Valdes
Email kathievaldes@aol.com

Kathie Valdes said...

Hi, I just tried your fried sweet potatoes. They were similar to sweet potato oven fries I make. Mine have a mixture of paprika and chili powder sprinkled over them after baking in oven til done and sugar has caramelized a bit. Quite a nice taste...sweet and savory! I enjoyed your recipe very much, also, the garlic and cumin went well together. Both ingredients are used in my kitchen frequently.
I was reading your butternut squash soup recipe. Again very much like mine, but with no "heat". I tend to add a touch of nutmeg to my regular batch or sometimes some curry. But the crowning glory to the soup,,or so I'm told, are the homemade garlic croutons used for garnish. Happy to pass along recipe if youre interested. All the best, Kathie Valdes
Email kathievaldes@aol.com