My neighbor Donna brought over some butternut squash that she grew in her garden. Not knowing what to do with it, I consulted my Better Homes and Gardens Biggest Book of Slow Cooker Recipes.
Here’s what I found:
Spiced Butternut Squash and Lentil Soup
1 cup dried lentils
2 1/2 cups butternut squash cubes — (3/4-inch)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 garlic cloves — minced
1 teaspoon garam masala
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1. Rinse and drain lentils. In a 3 1/2 to 4-quart slow cooker place lentils, squash, onion, carrot and celery. Sprinkle garlic and garam masala over vegetables. Pour broth over all.
2. Cover and cook on low heat setting for 8 to 9 hours or on high heat setting for 4 to 4 1/2 hours. Ladle into bowls.
My house is now filled with the warm, earthy aroma of garam masala. Soon the smell of freshly baked Crusty Rolls will join the mix. Mmmmm.
Finding the garam masala was an adventure. I went to a grocery store with an international food aisle, thinking it would be there. No luck. I went to the customer service desk thinking that they must have some sort of computer system they could look in. No. They don’t. They rely on disinterested part-time employees to know whether or not they have something in stock. Yeah, great business model.
I decided to pick up the spices to make it myself (Google will return several recipes). While in the spice aisle trying to understand how in the world cardamom can cost 14 bucks, I found that McCormick has a gourmet spices line, which includes garam masala.
McCormick, we love you.
Shaw’s employee who told me not to bother looking in the regular spices aisle for an Indian spice blend because it would be in the Shop the World aisle if you had it, which you probably don’t, not so much.
