Sweet and Sour: Squash Soup for Fall

My car clock mistakenly changed itself early this weekend for daylight savings which reminds me to remind you to set an alarm to change your clocks Saturday Nov 2 before bed (extra hour of sleep!)

How do you welcome the change in seasons? Lots of ways to be adding some warmth in your life with fall. Perhaps doing some warm yoga to take care of yourself with the busy holiday season coming up (the studio where I did my training called Yoga80 offers multiple classes each day and is having some fabulous workshops open to the public now-Dec, should be getting some updates soon. I do teach Tuesdays at 7:15pm and every other Saturday at 9am for folks living in San Diego). Getting or making yourself a new cozy knit hat or scarf. Checking that your umbrella still opens after the months in the closet. Finding heat in your food: firing up the oven for some spiced cookies and breads. Simmering soups and spicy foods (Korean tofu soup and Southern Indian sambar are nice...you can buy powders or pastes at the ethnic grocery stores to make them lickety split if you have time restrictions, maybe be social and host a hot pot with friends) are one of my favorite ways to welcome fall.

 If you love pumpkin, you're probably in heaven right now if you visit any coffee shop, ice cream parlor or even the grocery stores. Trader Joe's  had a whole shelf when I went (check out Kirbie's Cravings pumpkin scouting trip for more details)

Your soup may be a different color, my stock was bright pink from making it with beets

 

Delicata squash (image credit: Chezpim)

Sweet and Sour Squash Soup

Time depends if you already have certain items made! Making your own soup stock will take about 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Single Serving:
1 delicata squash (about 6"-8" long)-for about 3/4 cup cooked flesh
1/2 to 1 cup veggie stock
1-2 tbsp cilantro chutney

2-3 corn tortillas
1/4 avocado

1. Cut the delicate squash half lengthwise, remove the seeds (separate from guts, spread out to dry out a couple days and then toast) and place skin side up, bake at 400F for 20 minutes, until fork tender (shortcut idea: used 3/4 cup canned pumpkin)
2.  Make cilantro chutney while waiting for the squash.
3.  Scoop squash flesh out and discard skin. Add to a blender with 1/2 cup soup stock to start and 1-2 tbsp of  cilantro chutney (to taste). Blend until smooth.
4. Heat the soup on the stove on low or microwave
5. Toast a tablespoon nuts in the oven (just a few minutes at 350) or in a pan on the stove over low if desired to sprinkle on top of the soup.

Serving idea: For a more substantial meal and a counterbalance to the tangy, enjoy with the creamy flavor of warmed corn tortilla and sliced avocado on the side! Or maybe the dairy-lovers want to make a grilled cheese/quesadilla. For time saving, you could try buying canned pumpkin or buying microwave steamable bags of pre-cut butternut squash. although you could substitute it, but they do embrace orange colored produce.

Practical Question: Speaking of warming up, I saw a Groupon deal for a food warmer that you plug in and it warms to 200F, so no need to use a microwave. Anyone have experience with food warmers or thermoses they like or dislike?

Fun Question: What's going on for Halloween tomorrow? If nothing, what's your favorite seasonal fall food/beverage?

Fall Fruit and Celery Salad + Home-delivery CSA

I love my Suzie's Farm subscription, but was willing to also try out a farm that has a good variety of fruit that gets delivered. I found out my first home delivery CSA called Farm2You got sent to my old rental address (they didn't confirm before sending, boo-be aware the promoters may not convey this accurately!) since they finally got enough subscribers to deliver to my neighborhood. It seems nice because you can have them deliver every 1-4 weeks and not locked into a number of deliveries. On this one you can also log into your account and change out a fruit or vegetable of equivalent value if there is something you don't like or feel like that time. This would probably be a great CSA to start with if you are wary of getting produce you dislike (many other CSA you just have to see about trading with a friend or deal with it.)


Since last week we got our first big rain of fall, the box was sitting out on the old porch for me like a sad, soggy dog. I quickly, lovingly shoved the box into my car. At home when I could open the box, although everything seemed fresh as a daisy, I was dismayed to see celery. Very few veggies that I can't make friends with but this along with radishes are force fed. (I refuse to let them go wilty and don't have a compost still.) For future deliveries I am going to exclude celery, but for now I got inspired by a suggestion from a fellow yoga teacher, Sonja, and a recipe I saw (but could not re-locate on Food.com) with pomegranate seeds and orange juice.  Perfect that the box also came with some fall fruits-apples and pomegranates.

Fall Fruit and Celery Salad

Crunchy pops of sweetness from the fruit and the zing of mint helps tame the celery's strong flavor.
2 servings

2 celery ribs-thinly sliced moons (I did about two quarters-stacked together thick)
pomegranate seeds-half of the fruit
fresh orange juice-2 tbsp (or more to taste to taste)
pepper (to taste)
1 mint sprig, rinsed and chopped
4 tbsp chopped nuts, toasted (optional)
1 apple-sliced, quartered then cut into 1/4" pieces
2-3 cups of torn salad greens (lettuce, arugula, sprouts...whatever you've got)

Do your chopping and mining for pomegranate seeds.

Then toss to combine! May let it marinate a few hours for best flavors.



Tips: for the optional nuts, you can try different kinds and toast at about 350 a few minutes or on a pan low heat, I used macadamia.

Getting the pomegranate seeds out with less mess: cut the pomegranite in half, and then separate the seeds out in a large bowl filled with water. 

Try substituting mint with a different soft, leafy herbs. Oregano? Lemon verbena?

Are you ready for Halloween?

Good to Go Easy Seaweed and Bean salad along with product reviews for Indian Market's Priya Dosa Mix and MTR Sambar(soup) Curry Paste + "The Good Bean" dried chickpeas + Daiya Cheddar Cheese

Apologies for my lapse in weekly posts, I have been overwhelmed with end of year at work and having exams and class projects. I will do my best to make up for that by posting more consistently, possibly about:

• A bread machine gluten free recipe that rose! (this one isn't soy free however, I want to play around with using other types of non-dairy milk)
• San Diego Night Market visit
• Executing the book recipes on a bi-weekly basis (minimum)

It's been a huge morale damper to have my clients and teammates on furlough this week. In food related news, I have yet to come across any food (or other) deals for San Diegans who are furloughed except for popcorn at AMC movie theaters (not required to purchase a movie ticket). D.C. has a whole slew of places offering free meals, cupcakes, sandwiches, burgers...where's the San Diego love? We have so many military bases here!

GOOD TO GO -EASY SEAWEED-BEAN SALAD

Combo of beans and rice, something so satisfying.

School doesn't have a microwave that's easily accessible...if I heat it before I leave work it will get too cold by the time I am hungry (did not bother looking for the lunch-bag thermos type kit yet). Enter the tasty meal that does not require heating. The Seaweed Bean Salad uses Hijiki Seaweed (found it at Marukai market and love it because it doesn't have a strong ocean flavor...recall it from July with sprouted lentils?) Good source of iron (40% of daily value according to the nutrition label!), top it off with some citrus or strawberries for dessert to help absorb that non-heme iron. The recipe makes four servings at a time:

INGREDIENTS:
40 g  of dried hijiki, soaked in cold water for 30 minutes and then drained)
1 large avocado (1/4 per serving) or 2 small (1/2 per serving) sliced
1 cup dried Adzuki Beans (soak overnight and cook until tender 45mins-1 hour, or give a can of rinsed kidney beans a try or pinto beans)
1 fresh lime's juice
Fresh rice 1 cup cooked

Mix ingredients together and for best taste let it marinate for a few hours. For individual portions-make up 3/4 cup combination of rice and beans, 1/4 of the seaweed, 1/4 of the avocado and 1/4 of the lime juice.


Because it's been so busy I have started stocking time-saving foodstuffs. Here's what I have tested over the last few weeks: 

WHAT: Priya Dosas Mix
WHERE I GOT IT: Namaste Market, Mira Mesa
RESULTS: Although I have a crepe pan that worked well, I should have watched this video to know that the batter needs to have more liquid (than what the package called for), use a ladle to spread it and know that it's ready to turn when the edges curl up! My dosas turned out very thick and the batter itself seemed very salty (sodium listed at 120 mg for a single dosa, but since mine were so thick, it was probably heaps more!)

WHAT: MTR Sambar Curry Paste
WHERE I GOT IT: Namaste Market, Mira Mesa
RESULTS: I'm used to a more salty/savory sambar from Annapurna restaurant. However given that I paired this with the salty Priya dosas, the sour spicy flavor worked very well. It also paired well with something a little sweet (roasted sweet potatoes)

WHAT: The Good Bean snack pouches (dried chickpea)
WHERE I GOT IT: Marshalls, Mira Mesa, check out the manufacturer's website
RESULTS: I bought the chili lime and cracked pepper flavors. It's nice to find a snack that has 6 g protein that I can take to class or could travel well for a hike. Given it was at Marshall's, I probably won't see it again (and not at $1.89 per pouch). The website lists them at $2.88 when you buy a multi-pack and free shipping over $25 order. They are a Berkeley, CA business. If you have nut allergies they also have no-nut snack bars!

WHAT:Daiya Cheddar Cheese shreds (dairy free, soy free)
WHERE I GOT IT: Fresh and Easy, Mira Mesa,
RESULTS: I had only seen the mozarella flavor before (which to me tastes nothing like real mozarella, but adds a nice buttery, salty flavor-worked great in my salmon-potato patties). This tasted exactly like mozarella to me though.

What new projects are you working on for fall?