Hey there lovely people!

Welcome to the first serving of our delectable Foodletter! May your culinary adventures in 2024 be seasoned with joy, spiced with laughter, and topped with the finest ingredients of success. Let's whip up a year full of flavourful stories and delicious discoveries together.

Every Newsletter, A Foodie Adventure!

Picture this: each newsletter will be different. We're gonna talk about healthy tricks, share super simple recipes, try some fancy ones, and even peek behind the scenes of the food industry. Basically, it's a big, tasty party, and you're invited!

Prepare the Vegetable Broth

Collect vegetable scraps like carrot peels, onion skins, and celery ends. Place the vegetable scraps in a pot and cover with water. Simmer for at least 10-15 minutes to create a flavourful vegetable broth.

Prepare the Butternut Squash Soup

In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add diced butternut squash, onion, carrots, celery, and minced garlic. Grill the vegetables until they develop a slight caramelisation. Deglaze the pan with white vinegar, scraping up any browned bits. Add a bit of the prepared vegetable broth from the other pot to intensify the flavours. Transfer the grilled vegetables to a large pot.

Combine and Simmer

Pour more vegetable broth from the pot into the large pot with the grilled vegetables. Add enough broth to cover the vegetables and bring the mixture to simmer. Allow the soup to simmer for 20-25 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Make the Garlic Croutons

In a pan, heat olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add minced garlic and chopped rosemary, sauté for a minute. Add bread cubes and toss until evenly coated and golden brown. Season with salt, remove from heat, and set aside.

Blend the Soup

Use an immersion blender or transfer the soup to a blender in batches. Add some butter. Blend until smooth and creamy (add some broth if the texture is too compact).

Serve

Ladle the butternut squash into bowls. Top each serving with a handful of garlic rosemary croutons. Optionally, drizzle with a bit of olive oil.

Enjoy your Butternut Squash Soup with Vegetable Broth and Garlic Rosemary Croutons!

Notes: Feel free to add a pinch of chilli flakes, some sesame seeds or parsley.

Let's Chat About Taste! 🍴💬

Cooking is like a conversation with your taste buds, right? In this Foodletter, I'll be dropping tips & tricks to make your kitchen life a breeze. Because let's face it, the joy of cooking is all about making things taste just right!

In my culinary journey, a crucial piece of advice stands out — a seemingly simple step that holds immense significance. I encourage myself and all fellow enthusiasts to actively engage ourselves, and take a moment to taste the dish as we cook. This small but impactful act plays a pivotal role in achieving culinary excellence.

By tasting the creation throughout the cooking process, I open the door to a world of possibilities. It allows me to make real-time adjustments to the seasoning and flavours, ensuring that I have the power to tailor the dish to perfection. Without this hands-on approach, I risk missing the subtle nuances that can transform a good meal into an extraordinary one.

Consider tasting as your compass, guiding you to the optimal balance of flavours. It's not just a culinary practice; it's a personal journey toward crafting the best dish possible. So, do not urge yourself and others not to overlook this fundamental step.

Let's enjoy the tasting process and savour the rewarding results that come with creating the best possible dish for our tables.

Show Off Your Kitchen Skills! 📸

I wanna see what magic is happening in your kitchen too! Snap a pic of your culinary triumphs and share them with me. Who knows, your creation might just steal the spotlight in the next Foodletter.

Whether you're a kitchen whiz or just starting out, there's something here for everyone.

I'm already bubbling with excitement for our next Foodletter, and I can't wait to dish out more recipes, spill some kitchen secrets, and share the love for all things food. Until then, happy cooking!

Warm regards,

Shams