Butternut Squash Soup

This is the yummie recipe for the Butternut Squash soup, add in as much pepper and niutmeg as you like, I like loads, it's sweet yet savoury and full of so many good nutrients, vitamin A in the form of Beta Carotene which is great for your eyes and also an anti oxidant which helps to remove free radicals, preventing cancer and keeping us healthy!! it also contains potassium to keep your heart ticking nicely and it's really low in calories but full of flavour!!

Butternut Squash Soup
A real winter warmer and perfect after a long day!

1 large butternut squash1 large onion
1 large potato
Nutmeg
Pepper kernels
Vegetable stock
Tbspn olive oil

Peel butternut squash, deseed, peel and cube

Leave skin on potato, it preserves its dietary fibre, however wash thoroughly, chop and leave aside

Dice onion.

Heat olive oil and sweat the onion, don’t brown it.
Add in the chop potatoes and plenty of nutmeg and pepper kernels.

Boil some water and add in so as not t

o let the mix stick to the pan.

Simmer very gently.

Add in the cubed butternut squash and the vegetable stock and hot water.

Simmer the mixture gently for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes and squash are soft enough to blend.
Add more ground pepper and nutmeg to taste

Serve piping hot with some crusty brown soda bread.

Award Winning Soup!!!

The Healthy Eating competition was a lot of fun!! there was 9 contestants altogether, some of the recipes there were absolutely beautiful, my favourite was a Sweet potato curry with lentils and Quinoa, it won first place, obviously, mouth watering!!!

I won second place in The Starter category, very chuffed with the squash, although, I wasn't too pleased with the preparation, by the time we got there all the starters had been made and they just micro waved them in plastic jugs, I was not very impressed as I had been told they would prepare them fresh. But aside from that, the day was a lot of fun, there was pesto meatballs, lentil and chorizo stew, which Antonio is preparing above, Paella and a lot of gorgeous flavours, the cooks from The Cooks Academy were really friendly as well, I'm going to stick up a few photos of the afternoon, I was a tad worse for wear but very excited!!


Later on then, I showed Simon, my sister's boyfriend how to make some yummie vegetable soup. Simon's Soup, it was delicious for his first attempt, but a lot of pepper went in there!!















it was scrummy though, they bought all of their veggies on Sunday afternoon at The Farmer's Market in Dun Laoghaire, they were were so fresh and colourful, for the soup we used:

1 onion
3 cloves Garlic
6 Florets Brocolli
6 medium/small Carrots
1 Courgette
1 Leak
stock
pepper kernels
chili flakes

• Dice and simmer Onion, leave cloves of garlice whole, then add garlic with stock and pepper kernels and as much chili flakes as you want.
• Wash and chop up all the other veggies and add them in as you go, adding more water and another stock cube.
• Let all the ingredients simmer for 15 minutes and then blend up.
• The easiest thing to make and so very delicious,

We ate it with Red relish cheddar cheese melted on Wholemeal bread, it was a meal fit for a king!!

UCD Healthy Eating Competition

About two years ago, I arrived home with a butternut squash in hand and an idea for a new yummie soup. My family sat around and watched me prepare it with very cautious yet intrigued eyes, soup has always been the one thing we constanly demanded from mum, so I wanted to give her a break and use this simple recipe to turn this odd looking vegetable into quite a delicious treat. Mum can whip up a tank of delicious soup in no time and it has never failed.

So, this is my signature soup, I love sharing it with people and when I got an e-mail about the UCD Healthy Eating Competition, I got really excited and knew that I had to share this soup with everyone, it's perfect for students as it's so cheap and it's full of nutrients, good for the soul.

I entered my recipe into the competition with literally minutes to spare for the deadline, it was very exciting! and that was just over two weeks ago and on Monday I couldn't remember what day we would be notified if our recipes has been chosen or not, so I re-checked the application form and saw that it was Monday, I got no word on Monday and had to hide my disappointment, but I knew somewhere out there someone wanted the butternut squash....so on Tuesday evening when I was lounging around, I got an e-mail telling me that my the butternut sqaush soup recipe had been shortlisted to be a finalist at the Healthy Eating Competition on Monday 16th, I raised the roof with excitement and slightly scared my housemates, I told my sisters and my folks straight away, they have developed a close relationship with the butternut squash, or sugar nut plum as dad likes to call it!!

So, Monday the Cooks Academy will prepare my dish along with the other finalists, I can't wait to see what everyone has in store, it will be held in The Atrium of The Student Centre on Monday 16th @ 12:30 in the afternoon, fingers crossed the butternut squash tingles a few taste buds!!

I'll be posting the recipe shortly, as soon as I find out how me and the squash get on on Monday!!

The Epic First Post

Ever since I can remember I've had an interest in the way food comes together to create a masterpiece in your mouth. I grew up eating the most delicious meals, my mum always baked beautiful breads and cakes and whenever we got in from school, there was always a hearty bowl of steaming homemade soup waiting for us to gobble up. Food has always been a big part of our family, whenever we visited my grannies and great aunts, the smells of freshly baked brown soda bread would go straight to our hungry tummies.

I can't resist the temptations of creating new dishes and the one thing I love is seeing people enjoying good food and putting a smile on someone's face. I always get given out to because I'm so bossy in the kitchen and everyone wants to help but the only help I want is to see clean plates after a big feed.

My sister was the one who convinced me to set up Spuds and Cheddar and from the name you can guess what my two favourite foods are!! She is the guinea pig to many of my dishes and god bless her she's tried many a concoction!


When I was in secondary school, I studied Home Economics and my love of food only grew ever more, I had amazing teachers who taught me the secrets to a deliciously naughtie chocolate cake and how to woo anybody with a saucy number.

I love the aromas food brings to us and the hunger it creates within us. Coming home after a long day and whizzing up something homemade and full of fresh herbs and spices makes the end of my day so much brighter, I always go to bed a happy camper with a happy tummy!!

And knowing only too well how we all like to indulge, I do it all the time :) I thought that I would share the recipes that I've come across and added my own little touches to over the past few years, every attempt is made to make theses dishes as healthy but as scrumptious as they can be. There's something for everybody, from the dedicated veggie to the meaty maestro, so tuck in and enjoy every last bite!!!