Curried Acorn Squash Soup

As I’m trying desperately to stay warm this winter, I’ve managed to find ways to appreciate the season: via root vegetables, leafy greens and citrus! The winter’s most plentiful produce has made its way into many of my meals, and this weekend, my trip to the Union Square Farmers Market resulted in this hearty, comforting pot of curried acorn squash soup. I must admit, I was looking for butternut squash, but when the only thing I could find was acorn, I seized the moment and the end product left me pleasantly surprised (I didn’t know how sweet acorn squash could be!). You can tweak this recipe as much as you like, whether its changing up the type of apple, squash, seasoning, or adding other winter ingredients like leeks or parsnips. The pos-soup-bilities are endless!

INGREDIENTS

1 4-lb acorn squash

1 large carrot, peeled and chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 small yellow onion, chopped

1 tart apple, peeled and chopped

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp curry powder

salt and pepper

4 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable stock

DIRECTIONS 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Rinse squash and poke various holes in the skin using a fork. Bake squash for 45 minutes to an hour, until tender.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the carrots and celery and saute until they begin to soften, about 7 minutes. Add the onion, apple, curry powder, salt and pepper and cook until everything is tender, about 10 minutes more. Add the stock and lower the heat until the squash is cooked through.

Once the squash is soft and cool enough to handle, peel the skin and break into pieces. Add the squash to the soup and simmer for about 5 minutes more.

Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender until smooth. Add any additional salt and pepper if necessary.

The soup will keep up to a week and freezes wonderfully!

Eggstra! Eggstra!

Cooking for one is hard. Grocery shopping for one… is even harder. I tend to buy an overabundance of fruits and vegetables, and then ending up having to throw some of it out or eat so many blueberries that I might just turn into one (Re: “Violet you’re turning violet, Violet!” – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). This week, my ingredient abundance is in the form of eggs. I wasn’t able to find a half carton of eggs and got stuck buying a full dozen. I know eggs keep longer than other items but I still have 12 eggs to use, which is quite a challenge for one person who usually eats Greek yogurt or oatmeal for breakfast. Alas, I found a conclusion… sort of. Last night I made use of four of the eggs, providing me with at least four meals.

For dinner: Favorite Vegetable Egg Drop Soup. As I was eating this I realized it has my three favorite veggies- sweet potatoes, kale and mushrooms. Maybe some subconscious decisions going on there, but I didn’t do this on purpose when I was grocery shopping. Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp minced ginger

1/4 cup chopped vidalia onion

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 box low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock

4 cups chopped kale, stems removed

1 medium sweet potato, peeled, cut into discs and quartered

1 cup chopped portobello mushrooms

1-2 eggs, beaten

salt and pepper (and I added smoked paprika and chile powder) to taste

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic and ginger and saute until tender, about 4 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes and cook until they begin to soften, 10 minutes. Add the stock and let mixture come to a boil. Once this happens, add the mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes. Then add the kale and seasonings. Once the kale is wilted, add the eggs in a slow, steady stream, continuously stirring the pot. Remove the soup from the heat and serve!

I accidentally bought Japanese sweet potatoes but they were so delicious nonetheless!

Next up, lunch: Curried egg salad with basil and peppers

Ingredients

2 eggs

1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt- I like Fage or Chobani

1/3 cup chopped red bell peppers

2 tbs chopped fresh basil (for anyone in NYC use Gotham Greens… best basil I’ve ever eaten)

2 tsp yellow curry powder

2 tsp cumin

salt & pepper to taste

Directions

Hard boil the eggs. Place eggs in a pot and cover with water by 1 inch. Turn the heat to high and once the water is at a rumbling boil. Remove the pot from heat, cover and let sit for 15 minutes. Remove the eggs from the water and let cool. Once the eggs are cool, peel and mash with a fork.

In a medium bowl, combine the eggs with the rest of the ingredients until uniformly mixed.

Serve in pita with lettuce and tomato, or just eat it straight from the bowl!

Mmmm… eggciting, eggsquisite… and damn delicious!