Roasted Winter Squash Soup

I’m all for vegetables on their own, shining for themselves. I love vegetables in their raw form. Lately, I’ve been wondering if this is just laziness in me. I went to an incredible restaurant where they did magical things with wintery vegetables. Vegetables that I like okay but loved that night. Brussels sprouts, I’m sorry I never gave you a chance as a kid. We’ll make up for lost time.

This soup is amazing (no Brussels sprouts in this one, but squashes). I’m out of my lazy rut, because however delicious vegetables are in the raw, they don’t hold a flickering candle to this hero of foods, this bowl of beastliness, this delight of the senses.

Roasted Winter Squash Soup

1 medium acorn squash
2 1/2 T butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 large red onion, diced
15 oz vegetable broth
1 1/2 c butternut squash, roasted with olive oil
1 1/4 t thyme
1 1/2 t cumin
1/2 t ground white pepper

Slice acorn squash in half then slices 1/2 inch thick, or as close as you can get to that. In a preheated to 375 degrees F oven, roast the acorn squash for 20 minutes. I had leftover butternut squash, but I roasted that in a 400 degree F oven for about 15 minutes. You could roast these guys together probably. Whatever order you do it in, just drizzle with olive oil and make sure the pan gets a good little bit of olive oil, too.

Once you’ve got your roasted and peeled squashes (Squash is about 40 times easier to peel post-roasting. I didn’t know. Should’ve. Didn’t. Do now.), you’re ready for the soup bit. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Saute garlic and onion until tender.

Add broth, squash, and herbs. Bring to boil. Lower heat and let simmer until squash is really tender. This’ll take about 25 minutes or so.

Puree soup in food processor or blender. Return soup to pot. Bring to simmer. Add a little more vegetable broth to make it soupier.

This soup will make you melt. This soup will make you fall in love. This soup will make you very sleepy. Creamy without cream. Decadent. Flavorful. Oh my god. I’m going to get some more right now.

Happy 10.10.10, Everyone!!!

I know. It was yesterday. And I wanted to post then, when the world was still celebrating. However, there was so much to be done to prepare and celebrate the Big Day. The Historical Day. Yester Day. So I get really excited when there are things to celebrate, and the tenth day of the tenth month in the tenth year of the two thousands is no exception. I made a meal. Okay, okay. A feast. With ten different dishes. This week, we’ll go through all the dishes. Starting with the soup, which was served in the third course. (That’s right. Courses.) And the soup was delicious.

 

Can I admit something to you? I was nervous about this recipe. Really nervous. I started cooking the onions; that was fine.

But THEN, I added all the spices. And I got THIS!!! Any food that looks like worms at ANY point isn’t really going to get me overly excited about eating said food. I wasn’t excited, but rather, felt a little ill and incredibly worried that I had actually wanted B.F.C.P. and his aunt to eat such food. Okay. Be warned; this dangerous picture could upset the following: people with weary stomaches, young children, dogs, cats, elderly, anybody brave enough to scroll down.

There!! Okay. You saw it. Are you all right?!?! Now that you’ve braved the worst, you’ll have no problem, because this soup is so good. SOO good. So. Good. Really. I promise. The aroma while cooking is almost overwhelming, but the taste of the soup is perfectly balanced. AND it has salsa to go on top to give a zing and a pop. (Whoops. Accidental rhyme.)

Red Bean Soup with Salsa
Inspired by The Ultimate Book of Vegan Cooking by Tony and Yvonne Bishop-Weston

For the soup:
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 large red onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 t ground cumin
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1 T paprika
1 T tomato paste
1/2 t dried oregano
14 oz can chopped tomatoes, no salt added
2 14 oz cans red kidney beans, rinsed (I would recommend light. Although, I used one can of dark red and one can of light red for mine.)
3 3/4 c vegetable stock
Hot sauce, to taste (I used Frank’s Hot Sauce)

For the salsa:
1 avocado
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1/2 medium tomato, finely chopped
1 T chopped cilantro
juice of 1 lime

Heat oil in large, heavy pan and add onions and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add the cumin, cayenne, and paprika. Don’t feel grossed out by the worminess, because you know it’ll be okay. Cook for one minute stirring continuously but not really looking at the pan, if you can help it.

Stir in the tomato paste. (It starts to get better at this point.) Cook for a few seconds then add the oregano. Add the cans of tomatoes and kidney beans. (Up to this point, I had been using a saute pan. Now is when I transferred all the ingredients to a Dutch oven.) Then, pour in the vegetable stock.

Bring tomato and bean mixture to the boil and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Cool the soup slightly, then puree it in a food processor until smooth. Rinse the pan. Then pour in the smooth soup mixture. Add hot sauce. After you think about freckles then Jackson Pollock then moon craters, stir in the hot sauce and begin working on your salsa.

For the salsa:

Chop up onions into eensy bitsy pieces. This is especially good if you need an enforced cry. Then, chop cilantro and tomatoes. Then slice into your avocado, de-pit, and score to scoop out all the goodness into a small bowl. Add all the chopped ingredients. Then, top with the juice of a lime. Toss all together.

Ladle soup into bowls, and top with a little guacamole salsa in the middle of the bowl.

After ladling, pat yourself on the back for surviving such an ordeal. And get yourself a spoon to enjoy!!!

Hummmmus

About the title:: I had to do it. Lots of m’s?! Delicious food! It’s only fair.

I have been making hummus (Normal number of m’s there. I can show restraint. [Unless we’re talking about M&Ms or chocolate chips. No restraint there.]) for a few or a couple of years now. I’ve gotten consistent and good… and fast. Please picture me, still in preschool teacher garb, coming home from school absolutely famished. I was crazed. I had a timer. I set it to time. I set to work; I was out of that kitchen in less than 3 and a half minutes with a cheese and spinach quesadilla, freshly made hummus, and tortilla chips. I’m that good.

Well, anyway, the hummus is that good:::

Necessary to the process:
1. Food processor
2. Tahini (ground sesame seeds in a jar)
3. Lemon or lemon juice

Hummus
Inspired by: Martha Stewart

1 (15 oz.) can of chickpeas, drained
1/4 c lemon juice
2 T tahini
1/2 t Jane’s Crazy Mixed-Up Salt (*optional)
1/2 t McCormick’s Grill Master Montreal Steak Seasoning (*optional)
1/4 t cumin
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil

In the chassis of a food processor place drained chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini, and spices. Give it a whir until it looks like it’s beginning to combine but a little too chunky. Add extra virgin olive oil. Give it another whirl until it begins to look smooth and ready.

Taste to check seasoning. Add more if/as necessary. Whir (grind, chop, or pulse) to combine. Then take a spatula to remove the hummus first from the blade into storage container. Then the rest into the storage container. Let it chill in the refrigerator a couple of hours. (Ha. Or scoop it right out of the food processor, being careful to avoid the blades.)

*If you opt out of these very specific but basic spices in my household, you can always exchange them for sea, or kosher, salt and two cloves of garlic. I’ve also made a roasted red pepper version that’s delicious!