What Time Is It ? It's Soup Time!

    I love soup!  I make it at least once a week from the first cool day in autumn until it gets hot and sticky in June!  I always make enough to freeze a few servings. 

    Nothing spells  fall quite like the first taste of Squash Soup. To me it  is the ultimate comfort food. I have several recipes, all wonderful,  using either pumpkin or butternut squash but I'm always open to new recipes.   

    I discovered a wonderful food blog a few months ago and love visiting Susan at The Spice Garden. Her recipes and photos are enough to send me to the kitchen to cook.  Her recipe for Coconut Curry Squash Soup jump started my autumn cooking spree.

  Since I usually fiddle around with any recipe I try, and since I wanted to use the vegetables I got in my CSA box, I made some changes to the recipe. (Besides, it's against my religion to follow a recipe exactly as written!

  Here's my tweaked version:

Coconut Curry Squash Soup

          *** Roast  3 squashes (1 butternut and 2 acorn)  I cut them in half, scoop out the seeds and coat with olive oil then place on a cookie sheet and bake in a 350 oven for about 30 to 45 minutes until nice and soft. Cool slightly and remove skins.

          *** While the squash is roasting, saute 3 or 4  leeks and 2-3 cloves of garlic  in olive oil until soft and lightly browned.  Add  1 tablespoon of curry powder (recipe below) more or less to taste, 1 inch piece of minced ginger, a teaspoon of ground cumin, a teaspoon of garam masala,  salt and pepper and a pinch or two  of cayenne pepper and cook for a few minutes.

         ***Add  2 cans of coconut milk  and the squash and puree.  Add  1 cup of plain yogurt and  soy milk,  between 1 and 2 cups,   depending on the consistency you want. 

       ***Reheat when ready to serve.  Garnish with a teaspoon of cream swirled into the soup or a pinch of  Roasted Spicy Pepitos. (see below)

Comfort food

Homemade Curry Powder

                                 1 teaspoon of each of the following:

                                            turmeric

                                            ground cumin seed

                                            red pepper

                                            ground fenugreek seeds

                                            ground coriander seed

                                            

                                  1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and  dry mustard 

                                  3 ground  cloves             

Mix well, label and store.  Feel free experiment with this as there are as many recipes for curry powder as there are cooks in India!

Roasted Pepitos

Toss 1/2 cup  hulled pumpkin seeds with 1 teaspoon of canola oil, 1 teaspoon of mild or hot chili powder, 1/4 teaspoon of ground cumin and salt.  Toast in a 350 oven for 10 to 20 minutes, turning frequently. Use as a garnish for  Squash or Pumpkin Soup.

  If you want to see the original recipe, follow the link to The Spice Garden While you are there, check out some of Susan's other lovely recipes!

Today's Take-Away - When the weather cools off, make soup!


Linked to TASTY TUESDAYS at 33 Shades of Green.  Check out the link for some great recipes!