Tea-Scented Pumpkin Soup

Recipe 25 - March 15th, 2012

Success!

Tea-Scented Pumpkin Soup

This recipe comes from Food and Wine, October 2006

Chef: Han Feng

Full disclosure, I used a Long Island Cheese squash and sesame oil drizzle in this recipe in place of the pumpkin and pumpkin seed oil.  Pumpkin seed oil has to be special ordered in this part of the country.  And I wanted to continue using the rest of the squash we have left over from the CSA.  This recipe was delicious as I made it!  It's probably just as if not more delicious with the correct ingredients.  It was pretty hands-off once the squash/pumpkin was cut up and easy to prepare.  The serving sizes were filling.  It's a light broth soup, not very thick with lots of subtle flavors despite the minimal number of ingredients.   

Squash Stuffed with Quinoa and Wild Mushrooms

Recipe 23 - March 10th, 2012

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Squash Stuffed with Quinoa and Wild Mushrooms

This recipe comes from Food and Wine, November 2011

Chef: Kevin Kathman

I used two gold nugget squash from our CSA for the squash.  It added great color.  Mine doesn't quite look like the picture in the magazine, but still is an attractive dish.  It takes a while to prepare and at one point I had the timer on the microwave, stove, and my cell phone timing the squash, quinoa, and mushrooms as they cooked separately.  The cream, sugars, and maple syrup add a sweet note to the savory squash, quinoa, and mushrooms.  Together all the tastes are very nice.  We had it as a main dish alone and the serving size was filling.  The leftovers are quite nice warmed up too.      

Red Kuri (or Butternut) Squash Soup

Recipe 6 - January 19th, 2012

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Red Kuri Squash Soup

This recipe comes from Food and Wine, February 2012

Chef: Alice Waters

I used butternut squash for this recipe (which is a legitimate option).  I have found kuri squash since making the soup and would like to try it again using kuri squash someday soon.  This recipe is really easy, and delicious, and does not require a lot of ingredients.  The roasted fennel bulb, pecans, and marjoram added a lot!  Definitely add at least the roasted fennel bulb.  

I made the full recipe and it provided 5 servings.  This recipe is definitely a keeper!

Tuscan Kale and Squash Minestra

Recipe 5 - January 18th, 2012

Success!

Tuscan Kale and Squash Minestra

This recipe comes from Food and Wine, December 2011

Chef: Grace Parisi

I have to admit right off that I did not find "Tuscan" kale.  I bought (in layman's terms) "curly" kale and it worked well in this recipe.  One bunch equaled about 0.6 lbs and was enough for the recipe (it calls for a pound).  Also, as you will notice, my toasts got really toasty!

This recipe is quick and hearty.  The servings are pretty generous, I made the full recipe and there were leftovers.  The ditalini pasta are adorable and it was fun to learn about a new type of pasta.

I bought canned beans and would recommend Eden Foods canned beans.  They are the only company that has BPA-free can lining for their beans.  They also offer stewed tomatoes in glass jars, something I have found to be very hard to find.

We really liked the soup and will definitely make it again.  

Coffee-Baked Squash with Creme Fraiche

Recipe 3 - January 12th, 2012

Finally Success!

Coffee-Baked Squash with Creme Fraiche

This recipe comes from Food and Wine, January 2012

Chefs: Daniel Patterson and Rene Redzepi

I made this with Delicata squash and another small round yellow and orange squash.  Both from our community share agriculture(CSA - Grant Family Farms) squash bounty.  This is delicious!

Our whole house smelled like roasting coffee and even Erik, who doesn't drink coffee, didn't mind it.  You really can taste the coffee in the squash, just a subtle added taste that was wonderful.  I'm going to run tests as well to see if creme fraiche doesn't make everything taste better...

We had this with baked salmon with a fish rub.  This is definitely going in the recipe binder and I will make it again.  Yippee, finally, success!