Butternut Squash, Acorn Squash and Sweet Potatoes

Tonight, I made another soup to go with the leftover focaccia bread. Just in case I was not clear yesterday, THE BREAD IS REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY GOOD. I will definitely make it again and again.

Anyway, back to the soup. It was based on a recipe for butternut squash soup. This is also a recipe from http://www.allrecipes.com

Butternut Squash Soup II - This is a thick, rich soup with tons of flavor. Something I whipped up off the top of my head, with things I had on hand. Super easy, quick, and a great way to use squash.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
2 medium potatoes, cubed
1 medium butternut squash - peeled, seeded, and cubed
1 (32 fluid ounce) container chicken stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

Melt the butter in a large pot, and cook the onion, celery, carrot, potatoes, and squash 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Pour in enough of the chicken stock to cover vegetables. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 40 minutes, or until all vegetables are tender.
Transfer the soup to a blender, and blend until smooth. Return to pot, and mix in any remaining stock to attain desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper.

Since my butternut squash was relatively small, I added a small acorn squash. I followed comments of others to bake the squashes instead of peeling and cutting them. Preparation was much easier that way. I also took others suggestion to substitute sweet potatoes for the potatoes called for in the recipe. To make it extra creamy and smooth, I used almost half a cup of half and half when I was thinning out the soup at the end.

It turned out very sweet. Quite tasty, though sweet soup is generally not my favourite.

Thus far, I am enjoying all these vegetables - trying new food/recipes though I am not naturally a 'veggie' person. There is an exceptional freshness in the taste that I have not experienced before! ^_^

Sunday Feast

We had a feast tonight!!!! Soup, bread and cake. Yummy yummy yummy! Satisfying but not too heavy. A few CSA ingredients were used, kale, white turnips and green tomatoes. I found all the recipes from http://www.allrecipes.com I also made small adaptations to each of the recipes based on the reviews I read or different ingredients available.

Zuppa Toscana - Italian Tuscan sausage soup



Ingredients

1 (16 ounce) package smoked sausage
** Substituted with 2/3 pound of breakfast and pizza sausage
2 potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch slices
** Substituted with small white turnips
3/4 cup chopped onion
6 slices bacon
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 cups kale - washed, dried, and shredded
** increased to about 3 cups
2 tablespoons chicken bouillon powder
** only used 1 tbsp
1 quart water
** increased to 1.5 quart
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
** substituted with half and half


Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
Layer the sausage links onto a baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes, or until done. Cut in half length-wise, then cut at an angle into 1/2 inch slices.
Place onions and bacon in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until onions are almost clear.
Remove bacon and crumble. Set aside.
Add garlic to the onions and cook an additional 1 minute. Add chicken base or bouillon, water, and potatoes, simmer 15 minutes.
Add crumbled bacon, sausage, kale, and cream. Simmer 4 minutes and serve.

With all the changes I have made, the soup still taste similar to the ones serve in restaurant but a little lighter and less salty.

Focaccia Bread - A wonderful, quick alternative to garlic bread. Lots of herbs and lots of flavor!



Ingredients
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
** substituted 1/2 cup whole wheat bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon garlic powder
** omitted
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
** substituted with rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
** doubled
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup water
** substituted with milk
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
** omitted
1 cup mozzarella

Directions
** I used the dough cycle in the bread machine.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, sugar, yeast, garlic powder, oregano, thyme, basil and black pepper. Mix in the vegetable oil and water.
When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Punch dough down; place on greased baking sheet. Pat into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle. Brush top with olive oil. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese.
** I let the dough rest for ~10 minutes before baking.
Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.

This bread is EXCELLENT. Seriously. Easy and soooooo yummy. I will definitely make it over and over and over again. The dough cycle made it possible for me to cook the soup while the machine is running. Very convinient!!!

Last but not least... GREEN TOMATO CAKE! Yup, that's what you read - GREEN TOMATO CAKE! More on this in a separate green tomato entry.

To make every thing taste thrice better, my lovely husband washed all the dishes afterwards! ^_^

Week 2

This week is green week. Kale, arugula and turnip greens. There are more yummy celebration squash, sweet potatoes and turnips. Things that I have never try - acorn squash, radishes and...

 

Yup... A SNAIL!!!! (Ok, I think I have actually eaten a snail before) There was a live snail in my bag of kale!!!!!!!!!!!! It is actually not part of the produce. This little guy might have been hiding in the
kale during the rainy days. It was quite a shock to see it...

I finally transfer the kale into another bag and leave the original bag (with snail inside) out in the backyard. Hopefully, it will find the way out!

Acorn Squash - Swan White

Acorn Squash - Swan White

This one shapes like an acorn squash. It has creamy-white/pale-yellow skin and light yellow flesh. Cute!



I was too lazy to bake it for 30-45 minutes and think about fillings, I just cut and put them in the microwave for 7 minutes on high. Wahla... That is it!

It has a very very mild taste, almost too mild to eat it plain. A teaspoonful of brown sugar made it perfect.

I can imagine using this squash as the bowl for chili, sloppy joe or even macaroni and cheese?! Maybe I will try one of those later this week.

Week 1

Here it is... The first week of CSA!




We have swiss chard, banana peppers, mild chili peppers,
bell peppers, sweet potatoes, turnips, yellow acorn squash and
butternut squash.

This morning I discovered one of the 'fringe benefits' of joining a CSA is that - on a cold fall morning, I could sleep just a little longer and not have to worry about hurrying to the farmers' market before things are sold out! Heehee... 

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

This is the first time we are participating in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). It is a program where participants pay for a share of weekly-delivered produce in order to support local farmers.

If you are interested for some extra reading... http://www.localharvest.org/csa/

My knowledge about vegetables is EXTREMELY limited. Honestly, it is NOT my favourite food category. I could never imagine myself being interested in vegetables, in whatever aspect or extent, NEVER-EVER! However, I am attracted to the idea of CSA. Knowing who is growing my vegetables gives me a very personal, warm and cozy feeling. This is our main reason for joining a CSA. It will also provide opportunities to try many many new vegetables as well as eating more vegetables.

Who knows?! Maybe... One day, I might actually say, 'I like vegetables!' :-p