Curried Butternut Squash

Curried Butternut Squash and Peanut Butter Soup

This is the perfect antidote to those cold January days…

Makes about 6 servings

Prepare less than 30 mins

Cook around 40 mins

Ingredients

• 1kg butternut squash • 40g butter (almond oil if vegan) • 1 medium onion, thinly sliced • 2 sticks of celery, thinly sliced • 2 tsp mild curry powder • 1 litre veg stock • 5 llbs crunchy peanut butter • 300 ml milk (coconut milk if vegan) • A squeeze of lemon juice • Salt and pepper • 50g salted and roasted peanuts chopped, to garnish • Chopped coriander leaf, to garnish

Method

1. Peel the butternut squash, cut into wedges, remove the seeds and fibres and cut into small chunks.

2. Melt butter or oil in a large saucepan and cook onion and celery on low, until soft and lightly browned. Add the curry powder and fry for 1 minute, then add the squash and stock. Simmer for a good 20 minutes until the squash is very tender.

3. Puree the soup with the peanut butter (in batches if necessary). Return to the pan with milk and lemon juice and heat up again. Season to taste and serve with the peanut and coriander garnish.

So you have survived Christmas and are now thinking: ‘ Where am I going to put all this stuff?” it happens every year (and throughout). We find ourselves submerged in gifts, and whilst it is lovely to receive them, there is only so much space in the house! You have two choices I guess, buy a bigger house or maybe it’s time to de-clutter! Mike at Direct Local explains.

I find it hard to work when there is a lot of clutter around me. I resort to having a good clear up before I can channel my mind and get things achieved. At the same time, it is not always as easy as it sounds as we all get attached to our belongings. With this in mind, my Cds to my Mac and play them through

I thought I would try to help those of you who would like it. Once you have cleared the clutter, what you have remaining are the essential elements, which tend to be more beautiful and more elegant.

1.Make a list

As with many tasks, it is usually easier to start with a plan. Write down all the rooms that you would like to work on and then start one area at a time.

5.Take a photo

2.What doesn’t have a function?

This does take a certain amount of honesty, and is sometimes easier to do with someone else’s possessions, but, if you are doing this on your own, a little ruthlessness is called for. We all have sentimentality towards certain Now there is a special room, which always

items, and hold onto others ‘just in case’.

3.De-clutter your wardrobe

Anything that attains a hole is binned immediately. Effectively, as we get older our size and style changes as our skin and hair colour and some things just don’t work anymore. Whites don’t always stay as white as they once were, and neither does black. Whilst it is lovely to have summer beach clothes – how many do we need? Likewise, a pair of shoes that have never been worn because we don’t have the rest of the outfit to go with them possibly could A great way to do this is to turn all your hangers the wrong way, have a look in six months time which items haven’t been worn – the likelihood is that they will still be unworn six months later.

4.Dvds, Cds, Vhs, Cassettes

In this digital age, so many of the above are now just not used and they can take up vast amounts of space – how often do you use them? I have found that I now upload all of my TV, on my phone, in the car, on my ipad etc. as such, I bundled up all of my Dvds as Christmas gifts. The same unfortunately goes books.

Sometimes, all we need is a reminder of something that we no longer need and, as such, a photograph of that chipped vase with some lovely flowers is all we require to allow ourselves to part with something we can no longer house.

6.The kitchen

find a better home. seem to harbour every gadget, dish and mug that we would possibly house. If you have a dishwasher, I would imagine that even you are surprised by the number of mugs you now have. I shall tell you, that if you have less mugs, it is amazing how much quicker it is to empty the dishwasher. Have you held onto the roasting tins that come with the last cooker you owned?

7.Retain, Recycle, Remove

As you start to approach this mammoth task, you could try to separate into three criteria. Items you want to retain: items you could sell on eBay or donate to charity: and items that need disposing of in the bin. You may be surprised how much money you could raise by selling a few items that you really don’t want. This goes for clothing, as well as Cds, Dvds, furniture and even jewellery. You may even be able to have a holiday if you have really good clear out! And you can even get someone to do the hard work for you. For a fee.

8.Five Item Rule

If the above seems daunting, how about looking at it in a far gentler way. Say, every time you clean or tidy the house, you select just five items that you no longer need and set them aside in a box or bag, or the boot of your car ready for you to drop off when your next passing a charity shop? Over a period of time, you would be surprised by the space that you reclaim. It may seem daunting; but having a clear-out can benefit not just your home, but also your mind. Psychologists have found that women with cluttered homes have higher levels of cortisol – the stress hormone associated with chronic fatigue, post traumatic stress disorder, and higher risk of mortality. A recent study also showed that physical clutter affects people’s ability to focus, process information, and be productive – so jilting the junk could be just the energy boost you need. What are you waiting for?

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