Quarantine Meals, From the Pantry + Freezer: Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup

Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup

When the going gets tough and you’re in quarantine, grocery items and leaving the house can be limited. You can push cooking aside, you know, like peas on a kids dinner plate. In adulting, cooking has become our universal pea - but I want to help end that struggle by reframing cooking. Especially now and especially during this time.

Swept up in busy schedules as we work, live and sleep in the same space - we may still be over committing ourselves to work for a fear of losing it (the economy is scary) and conveniences like take out are helping out businesses right now, but buying every meal isn’t financially sound. 

Even during these times, we have the choice to take back some time and cook.

Cooking is considered time consuming and it can be, but it doesn’t have to be. Cooking can also be a place to find mental, emotional and physical balance.

What if you knew cooking one pot of soup could possibly set up you and your family for feeling great?
What if you started feeling better little by little, day in and day out?
It’s very possibly to thrive during the quarantine, it’s a state of mind.

Leaning into a stocked freezer and pantry strategy allows me to soup any time, even in quarantine. Frozen vegetables, broths, and a spice cabinet with the basics are a life saver. No time like the present to start stocking with Fresh Direct, Food Kick, Amazon Prime, Instacart and Pea Pod as options that will drop groceries to your door. Load up with spices, frozen items and non-perishables that you don’t need immediately but can certainly use as you start cooking more and moving forward as we make our way out of isolation and social distancing. 

If I’m in my apartment for 30-40 minutes and have a beat between meetings, a pot of soup is possible. Of course it means consciously getting up from my desk, leading my phone in the living room, getting my a$$ off of the couch and pausing Netflix in the evening - but it’s worth it every time. 

Frozen butternut squash and baby carrots are the foundation of this soup. Add 3 tablespoons of butter, crack open a can of coconut milk and a container of chicken stock and you have your base. Throw in a tablespoon of curry powder, black pepper and quarter an onion if you have the energy. It’s not much peeling, really. This soup is so simple to make, it practically cooks itself. Of course, if you have fresh butternut squash and carrots or only butternut squash, feel free to use them, you’ll simply cook the veggies a little longer in the broth until tender and easy to blend.

Smooth, bright orange and bursting with flavor - I love topping a bowl with a little Sriracha for a spicy finish. And, as luck would have it, there are giant bottles of Sriracha in the kitchen at my new job. Heat top and eat.

Lemme know how it goes.

XO

Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup

2 x 12 ounce bags of frozen butternut squash 
1 bag of frozen carrots 
1 large onion, peeled and quartered
3 tablespoons of butter 
3 cups of chicken or vegetable stock 
1 tablespoon of curry powder 
1 can of light coconut milk 
Black pepper to taste

Add all ingredients to a large stock pot up until the coconut milk and bring to a boil. Lower flame, add in coconut milk, cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes until carrots are fork tender. Using a high power blender, food processor or immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth. Serve with freshly ground black pepper and a swirl of Sriracha if your spicy pants dare.