IndustryEats

We’ve made it to the homestretch. Laura and I now have only one very large pumpkin left from this autumn’s collection. If you’ve been following along, you already know that we have made a variety of soups from the previous pumpkin and squash. In all honesty, many of these soups are very similar in their structure. It’s a few ingredients here and a few ingredients there that change things up. Personally, I enjoy experimenting with what others have assembled. If you’d like to see some of the previous soup recipes I’ve shared, you can visit them here.

The Recipe

Today’s recipe comes from the one and only Alton Brown of the Food Network. I’ve prepared some of Alton’s recipes in the past and I’ve been thrilled with the results. He’s got a true sense of what good food should taste like, so when I saw a recipe he created that had to do with squash, I jumped at the chance to put it together.

In Alton’s dish, he used butternut squash. I love butternut squash, but since we had a very large ornamental squash sitting on the windowsill waiting to be eaten, I decided to go with that. Ours definitely wasn’t as sweet at the traditional butternut, but the addition of pure maple syrup handled that issue well. Also, instead of heavy cream, I used coconut milk. Instead of ground nutmeg, I used cinnamon. Instead of butter, I used olive oil. So, if you think about it, I changed up most of the ingredients he called for. The reason I did this was to keep in line with a very special diet Laura and I are attempting to adhere to. The healthiest of the healthy. It’s fun to substitute out some ingredients for others. It really opens one’s eyes to what they put in their mouth.

This is a good soup. We’ve got lots of it leftover in the refrigerator and I think that’s just great. The soup is light and tasty and well worth the effort. If you have a large squash or two smaller ones, I encourage you to go ahead and double up on the ingredients below. The more soup, the better. That’s what I say.

Ingredients

Serves: 8

1 Large 5 Pound Ornamental Squash
1 Large Sweet Onion, Chopped
Regular Olive Oil
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
3 Cups Vegetable Broth
1/4 Cup Honey or Pure Maple Syrup
1 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
1 15-Ounce Can Coconut Milk
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

Step-by-Step Instructions

Just as an FYI, you can really get creative with the ingredients you use for soups like these. As long as you stick with similarly themed tastes, you should be fine. Think about nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger as in the same family. Pretty much all of these recipes call for salt, pepper and some sort of cream to add taste and add to the texture. A sweetener may be necessary and a broth is usually essential. Just alter the quantities to your liking.

Pre-Heat Your Oven

Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees. Space the racks so they are of an equal distance from themselves and the bottom and top of the oven.

Prep the Squash

To prep the squash, you’ll need to cut it in half and remove all the seeds. Then, cut the remainder up into 2 inch pieces and cut off the skin. Place the flesh into a large bowl.

Add a few tablespoons of olive oil to the bowl, along with the salt and the ground black pepper. Mix all the ingredients together until every piece of squash is coated with the oil.

Cook the Squash

Spread the pieces of squash out on one or two large baking sheets. When the oven is to temperature, add the baking sheets to it and let roast for 45 minutes. Half way through, switch shelves for the baking sheets.

Brown Onion

Warm a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. When it’s to temperature, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to it along with the chopped onion. Cook for approximately 10 minutes or until the onion softens and begins to brown.

Once the onions have softened, go ahead and add in the ground ginger and cinnamon. Mix that well.

Mix in Remaining Ingredients (Almost)

Next, add the syrup or honey, broth and cooked squash to the Dutch oven. Mix everything together.

Blend Everything Together

In batches, use a blender to blend the ingredients from the pot together. When each batch is finished, pour it into a large bowl. Then, add the coconut milk to the soup and mix it in until it melts.

The Final Soup

That’s it! Wasn’t that easy? Let me tell you, this soup was really inexpensive too. The amount of food you get from this effort is truly remarkable. And what’s even better is that if you choose to double up, you can store the excess in the freezer. I’ve done this in the past and there’s nothing better than having a delicious soup sitting there waiting for you when you’re ready. Enjoy!

Some of the simplest recipes make the best tasting food. This one is no exception. I absolutely love this curry and am looking forward to preparing more like it in the future.

The Recipe

I’ll admit, I don’t have tons of experience with different types of spices. I’ll also admit that I am going to give learning about them my best shot in the future. The recipe below uses two simple tablespoons of curry and, believe me when I say this, that made all the difference. Sure, there’s sweetness from the pure coconut sugar and that velvety goodness from the coconut milk, but what I’m thinking about right now is the curry. It really brought this dish home.

The only time consuming part of preparing this curry is the prep work involved. But once that’s done, it’s really smooth sailing. For some reason, whenever I see that I’ve got to peel and chop carrots, my heart sinks. I’ve been doing so much of that lately and I’m getting tired of it. I’m going to do a bit of research to see if there’s some magical method for making that job easier. Not that it’s a huge part of this recipe or anything, but my hands are getting tired.

Beyond that, an onion needs to be chopped and two sweet potatoes need to be peeled and chopped as well. Some mushrooms and green beans and what you’ll end up with is a really great curry that you’ll likely receive genuine praise for. It’s not every day we eat curry up here in Maine, but perhaps it’ll become a more frequent activity.

Ingredients

Serves: 4

2 Tablespoons Regular Olive Oil
1 Large Sweet Onion
2 Teaspoons Garlic, Minced
2 15-Ounce Cans Coconut Milk
2 Tablespoons Curry Powder
1 Tablespoon Coconut Sugar or Maple Syrup
2 Medium Sized Sweet Potatoes, Peeled and Chopped
4 Medium Carrots, Peeled and Chopped
8 Ounces Mushrooms, Sliced Thin
4 Ounces Green Beans, Trimmed and Cut into 1-Inch Pieces
Fresh Cilantro
Regular Table Salt
Ground Black Pepper

Step-by-Step Instructions

I’d like to thank Kate Barrington for this recipe. Laura and I found it in one of her fabulous cookbooks. She writes all sorts of recipes for those who are looking for great dishes that will only make their bodies better. Two of her titles are “DASH Diet Detox: 14-day Quick-Start Plan to Lower Blood Pressure and Lose Weight the Healthy Way” and “The Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis Healing Diet: A Complete Program for Eating Smart, Reversing Symptoms and Feeling Great.” Many of her recipes are vegetarian, gluten free and all that. If you’re interested in what the world now calls “clean eating,” I highly suggest you check out this author.

Soften the Onion

Warm a large skillet over medium heat. When the pan is to temperature, add the olive oil to it and then add the chopped onions. Cook, while stirring, for about 5-8 minutes or until the onions become translucent. Then, add in the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Stir as well.

Add Carrots & Sweet Potato

Next, add in the carrots and the sweet potato. Also add the curry powder, coconut sugar, a pinch of salt and a pinch of black pepper. Mix all ingredients well and cook for about 3 minutes.

Add the Coconut Milk

Once that’s finished, go ahead and add in the coconut milk.

Makes sure all the milk is melted and then mix it into all the other ingredients. Raise the stove top temperature to medium-high and cover the skillet. Let cook for 5 minutes.

Add the Mushrooms & Green Beans

Remove the lid from the skillet and add in both the mushrooms and the green beans. Stir these ingredients into the others well. Keep the temperature the same and also keep the lid off the skillet. Let everything simmer for about 5 more minutes. You’ll likely need to stir during this time because the goal here is to soften both of these additional vegetables. Once you’re finished, the curry should look like this.

Divide & Serve

At this point, you can divide the curry between 4 bowls. Also, add some cilantro leaves to each bowl as a garnish.

The Final Dish

As you can see, this recipe makes a lot of food. It’s a meal in a meal. Laura and I also cooked up some rice to scoop the curry onto. I think that worked out really well. Enjoy!

As you’re most likely aware, Halloween is a huge time to sell pumpkins pretty much everywhere in the U.S. The timing for the harvest and the holiday fall together nicely. I’m not sure how things go in other states, but up here in Maine, we see pumpkins begin to sell at the end of September and continue on all the way up to the middle of November. I may be off a bit on these dates because I’m pulling this data straight out of my brain, but it’s something like this.

For the most part, I see folks purchasing pumpkins to carve and to sit on their front steps. Laura and I used to do this. It’s a fun tradition and I really never gave it much thought. Before Halloween, the pumpkins cost around $8, which isn’t terrible, considering it’s a large fruit. After Halloween though, the prices fall dramatically. Two years ago, Laura and I picked up two very large pumpkins that weighed around 14 pounds a piece for only $1 each. This was Halloween night at a local grocer. This past Halloween, We grabbed three more pumpkins, along with some rather enormous squash, for $2 each. It was crazy and I was all abuzz for days after we made the big find.

You may be asking yourself why anyone would care about how much we paid for pumpkins after Halloween. I mean, we didn’t carve them and put them outside with candles set in their insides. I will tell you, however, what we did do with them. We ate them, which is something we’ve been doing for a while and which everyone should consider doing as well.

Last night, I processed a large pumpkin that we’ve had sitting on our windowsill for months. It was still in perfect shape and it gave me two large bowls of flesh. With half of the pumpkin, I made the soup that I’ll give you the recipe for below. With the other half, we’ll add pieces to our salad or simply eat as a side dish along with something else. My point here is this – last night, I made a tremendously awesome tasting and very health soup for around $3. I made a gallon of it. Now, I don’t know about you, but when I hear people discuss the prices of food, I tell myself that they should look for the sales. They should also begin to enjoy cooking, because that’s where all the fun is. I’m not sure which is better, making and eating the nice pumpkin soup or knowing that I bought the pumpkin for only $2 and that it’ll feed both Laura and me for days. Still, I can’t get over it.

And to top things off, pumpkin is wicked healthy.

The Recipe

If you’re on a restricted diet or are trying to avoid eating gluten, this recipe may be for you. I’ve made it so it’s perfect for those who like gluten free foods or who are suffering from a wide variety of conditions. Of course, you’ll need to check the ingredient list below and match things up to your liking, but I will tell you that there’s no dairy, is vegetarian, is gluten free and is relatively easy to prepare.

I put this recipe together myself. I pulled ideas from a variety of sources, including some that I have listed right here on this blog. If you do a search up top for anything with butternut squash in it, you’ll see something similar below. I also took some ideas from the America’s Test Kitchen cookbook I purchased a while back. They’ve got a nice Harvest Pumpkin Soup recipe that I drew inspiration from.

If you like pumpkin soup that uses canned pumpkin, you’ll certainly enjoy this recipe. If you like butternut squash soup, you’ll most likely enjoy this pumpkin soup too. Naturally, butternut squash is sweeter than pumpkin, but for this recipe, pure maple syrup makes up for the pumpkin’s lack of sweetness. This soup’s texture is similar to that of butternut squash soup and both soups look quite similar. In all honesty, you might not even know the difference. I do, because I harp on these types of things, but if you’re not a soup person, you’ll really enjoy them both interchangeably.

In this recipe, I swapped out half-and-half for coconut milk. Just doing this got rid of some dairy and increased the health level. I also used low sodium vegetable broth and mixed up the spices so they don’t interfere with anyone’s special diet. This is where you need to be careful. If you’re restricted from spices of any kind, you need to make the appropriate substitutions. I’ll list some common ones below, but it’s up to you to take care.

Finally, I removed the butter and used olive oil instead. Again, this took care of the dairy and in it’s place, I used something much more healthy.

Ingredients

Serves: 8 to 12

1 5-Pound Pumpkin
Regular Olive Oil
1 Large Sweet Onion, Chopped
2 Tablespoons Garlic, Minced
1 Teaspoon Ground Cumin
1 Teaspoon Ground Coriander
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
3 Cups Low Sodium Vegetable Broth
2 Cups Water
1/4 Cup Pure Maple Syrup
1 15-Ounce Can Coconut Milk
Regular Table Salt
Ground Black Pepper

Step-by-Step Instructions

The recipe list above is an approximation. Since my pumpkin was huge, I only used half of it. I used exactly as much as I needed to use up all of the liquid. As you progress below, you’ll see what I’m talking about. Just be aware that you may have leftover roasted pumpkin, which is fine. You can be like me and eat that as a side dish with something else. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on it and you’ll be ready to go.

Prep the Pumpkin

Cut the pumpkin in half with a sharp knife. Please be careful doing this. Pumpkin has a way of either not letting the knife through or letting it through very quickly. Once it’s cut in half, clean all the seeds out of the inside and cut those halves in half. Keep cutting until you have pieces that measure about two inches by two inches large. Then, lay each piece on its side and carefully slice off the skin. Finally, toss the pieces in a large bowl.

Next, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the bowl, along with a pinch of salt and a pinch of black pepper. Mix the pieces of pumpkin well until each piece is coated with oil.

Bake the Pumpkin

Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees. Arrange one of the oven racks so it’s sitting in the center position. Then, add the pieces of pumpkin to a large baking sheet and spread them out evenly.

Finally, once the oven is to temperature, place the baking sheet inside of it and let bake for 45 minutes. The pieces of pumpkin should be softened and slightly browned by that point.

Brown Onion & Garlic

Warm a large skillet over medium heat. Then, once the pan is to temperature, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to it and then add the chopped onion. Stir and cook the onion for 5 minutes or until it softens and just begins to brown. Then, add in the garlic and stir and cook for one more minute.

After that’s finished, add in the cumin, coriander and nutmeg and stir these spices into the other ingredients well.

Add Liquid

Raise the heat to high under the skillet. Then, add in the vegetable broth, water and maple syrup. Stir everything together well and make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. In the previous step, you developed very tasty fond that needs to be released. This will add to the soup’s flavor.

Once the liquid begins to boil, lower the heat to medium-low and let the liquid simmer for 15 minutes. Doing this will meld the flavors together.

Blend the Soup

For this step, you’ll need two more additional things. First, you’ll need a blender all set up and second, you’ll need a large pot. You’ll also need to work in batches.

With a ladle, scoop out a few scoops of liquid from the skillet and pour that liquid into the blender. Then, take a few pieces of baked pumpkin and add them to the blender as well. Only fill the blender up about half way. Turn the blender onto one of the medium settings and see what happens. If the soup is too thick inside the blender, add some more liquid. If it’s too thin, add some more pumpkin. Once you find the right amounts of ingredients, blend well and pour the results into the pot. Continue with this until everything is used up.

Warm the Soup

Once there’s nothing left to blend, place the pot on your stove top over medium heat. Add the can of coconut milk and stir well. Only let the pot remain over the heat until the soup has warmed enough that it’s steaming, but not boiling. At that point, turn off the heat. You may now add salt and pepper to taste. I suggest you add some soup to individual bowls before adding those two ingredients because folks may have different tastes.

The Final Soup

I guess I’d consider this a very elegant budget meal. As I’ve become better at cooking, I’ve developed a sense of what different ingredients can do. I’ll tell you this – soup is special. I never knew how complex it could be. I also never knew how economical and healthy it could be. I have to give a lot of respect to those who have made really good soups out there. I simply wasn’t aware of what went into it.