The Whole Wheat

SOUP WEEK, DAY 3

In honor of Halloween, today I’m posting about Winter Squash soup, which can easily be made with pumpkin! In fact I’ve made it with a pumpkin sister, the Australian Blue. Brad actually declared the soup made with the Australian Blue his all time favorite. I really like the Delicata Squash variety for soup. The wonderful thing about this recipe though is that you can use any type of these hard winter squashes – all following the same recipe! You may have to roast a squash such as the Australian Blue a bit longer though. Try it with different varieties and let me know your favorite!

Winter squash tend to have hard skins and can be difficult to peel. Therefore roast them first as described below, then simply scoop out all the goodness directly into the pot.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 – 3 pounds winter squash
• 6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 1 t. dried sage (or 1 T. fresh chopped)
• 1/4 t. dried thyme
• 1/4 c. chopped parsley
• 1 1/2 t. salt
• 2 quarts vegetable stock (or use water if necessary)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Halve the squash and scoop out the seeds. Rub the surfaces with oil then place cut side down on a baking sheet with the garlic cloves tucked inside the squash cavities. Bake until tender when pressed with a finger, about 30-45 minutes.
2. In a soup pot, warm several tablespoons of oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until they begin to soften. Add the sage, thyme, and parsley and continue cooking until the onion begins to brown around the edges – a total cooking time of about 12-15 minutes.
3. Scoop out the squash flesh and add to the pot, along with any juices that may have accumulated.
4. Peel the garlic cloves and add them to the pot along with the salt and stock.
5. Raise heat to high and bring to a boil. Partially cover and lower the heat to simmer for 25 minutes. Season to taste with salt & pepper.
6. Ladle into bowls and garnish with a bit of cheese (such as fontina, pecorina, ricotta salata, or goat cheese), fried sage leaves, or baked squash seeds as desired. No garnish works just as well!

Here are a few example photos, enjoy!

Australian Blue Squash
	Roasted Delicata squash plus garlic cloves
Scooped out Delicata squash flesh

SOUP WEEK, DAY 2

What could be more American that tomato soup and grilled cheese? Here is my small twist on the classic tomato soup – the addition of milk makes the soup lovely and cream without adding excess fat. I am sure a plain soy milk would work well here too. And if you want to go TOTALLY wild, do what I did and make some cheesy quesadillas with Teleme cheese & mushrooms! This combination will be tough to beat!

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 T. butter
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 celry rib, chopped
• 1 1/2 t. dried thyme, basil, sage or any combination of these
• pinch of ground cloves
• 2 T. flour
• 2 15-oz cans of diced tomatoes in puree (or roast and substitute fresh if they are in season)
• pinch baking soda
• 2 1/2 c. vegetable stock
• 1 1/2 c. milk
• salt & pepper
• tomato paste if needed

1. Melt the butter in a stock pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and herbs, stirring occasionally until onions are limp, about 5 minutes.
2. Stir in the flour, then add tomatoes, baking soda, and stock.
3. Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, partially covered for 20 minutes.
4. Puree soup in a blender until smooth. (Note: I prefer to puree in my Vitamix but please be careful with hot liquids in any blender. Remove the top plastic stopper and cover the opening with a towel. This will help prevent explosions from the steam or splatters all over your kitchen!)
5. Return the soup to the pot and add the milk. Season with salt & pepper. If the soup is too thick, thin with a bit of stock. If there is not enough tomato flavor, deepen it by adding a small amount of tomato paste.
6. Serve hot with something delicious and cheesey!

SOUP WEEK, DAY 1

Vegetable stock is ridiculously easy and comes together very quickly. Not only that but you can vary the ingredients to fit the soup du jour, or simply whip up a more general batch for all sorts of daily uses: cooking rice, farro, risotto, sauces, and on & on! One of my dear friends also reduces vegetable stock and uses it often as a finishing sauce – it works beautifully this way too!

Today I want to share with you my go-to vegetable stock recipe. This recipe has never failed me and I have performed numerous variations on it, all with great success. The inspiration and most of the guidelines here are from one of my favorite books: Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, by Deborah Madison.

My hope is that you will be inspired to try making your very own version of vegetable stock, and be able to do away with the store bought version forever! Good luck, and enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, discard outer papery skin
• 2 large carrots
• 2 celery ribs, include leaves if you have them
• 1 T olive oil (or vegetable oil)
• 1 T nutritional yeast (optional – this adds extra flavor but is not necessary)
• 8 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 8 parsley branches
• 6 thyme sprigs or 1/2 t. dried
• 2 bay leaves
• salt

1. Scrub the vegetables and chop them into 1-inch chunks. This is not an exact science, do it quickly and don’t fret.
2. Heat oil in a stock pot over medium. Add the onions, carrots, and celery. Sauté about 10-15 minutes until the onions have a nice deep color. This is the base flavor for your stock so let the onions really develop some color here.
3. Add the remaining ingredients except salt. Continue cooking another few (2-3) minutes to combine flavors.
4. Add 2 t. salt and 2 quarts cold water. Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Strain into a bowl or container. (Try to strain the stock immediately as leaving vegetables in the stock after cooking can impart a bitter flavor)
5. Use immediately or cool and refrigerate. Discard the vegetables and herbs that were strained out.

Things in the world of The Whole Wheat have been a bit crazy this week! On Saturday I participated in the Nike Women’s Half Marathon here in San Francisco. It is one of the most fun races I have ever participated in! I was lucky enough to have a friend from Dallas run with me – what a treat!

Due to the 13.1 miles I ran on Sunday, I’ve been a little out of sorts and the exciting weekly themes must be postponed. My sincere apologies. I am also heading to a conference tomorrow and will not return until Sunday – so look forward to some exciting THEMES starting next week. For REAL!

Here’s a little proof that I was in the race – see, no joshing!

Today The Whole Wheat became even more iPhone friendly!  Now instead of the online display most of you are probably reading, your iPhone (or even iPod Touch) will see a more streamlined look that forgoes photo loading unless you view the whole entry.  Enjoy!

Things have been quiet here on The Whole Wheat this week. For good reason! Starting next week I am going to begin a set of weekly series – focussed on one specific food or type of food. I’m really excited about this project and think it will be a lot of fun!

If you have any ideas or requests for the types of weekly projects you might like to see – leave a comment or drop me a line.