squash Archives

Last weekend I shared that Adam and I are expecting a baby, which is super exciting. But, even more exciting is that Adam’s brother’s wife and Adam’s sister are also expecting babies in early 2016. Emily is having a son and Amanda is expecting triplets!

It’s going to be so fun.

Actually, it’s already been a lot of fun.

It’s neat to share this time with everyone, compare notes, and just laugh about how wild and loud our lives are going to become. We have all spent the last couple weekends together celebrating the upcoming arrivals of Amanda and Emily’s babies at their baby showers.

Emily’s sisters hosted a great shower this past weekend that had a precious “Little Pumpkin” theme. It was really fitting not just because of the time of year, but because her bump is so perfect and cute; it seriously looks like she has a pumpkin under her shirt.

And then, Adam’s oldest sister, Aimee, hosted a luncheon shower for Amanda at her home the first weekend of October while Emily and I helped with some of the food.

When trying to determine what to serve for lunch at Amanda shower, Aimee and I talked about a handful of recipes that we have liked at other family events. We narrowed it down to a light, super-fresh avocado chicken salad and a very autumnal salad. Both taste great, are easy to do for crowds, and I had actually made both in September for another shower and a dinner with friends.

As I began to prep for the shower and sat down to make my grocery lists, I had to laugh: Both recipes we planned on preparing were introduced to the three of us by Amanda.

In fact, a lot of my favorite recipes have been introduced to me by Amanda.

Amanda is a great cook and is always trying new things. She is particularly good at baking and really shines as a hostess. Her husband, Mike, even gets into the action serving as the family mixologist at the Holiday’s whipping up fun and festive drinks… Although, this year, he may be out of a job with all these pregnant gals!

Last fall, Adam came home from work with one of Amanda’s recipes for a butternut squash soup.

Adam is a major soup fan; but, I had always been on the fence about butternut squash. I couldn’t really tell you what it was about butternut squash… maybe it was the sweetness or the texture? Maybe the color? Honestly, it was probably the name. But, I had never purchased one as an adult and, in the past, I have even dissed butternut squash right here on Bloom.

But, thanks to Adam’s persistence and Amanda’s history of great recipes, I gave the soup a try.

And… LOVED IT.

The combination of apples, butternut squash and spice marry well and create a flavor that is so perfectly, “Harvest.” I also enjoyed the addition of the spicy pepper and cool sour cream as a garnish as it adds even more depth of flavor but also dimension to the texture of the smooth soup.

I loved this soup so much it changed my whole perspective on butternut squash and I am now proud to say that I am a BIG butternut squash fan. (Although, maybe we could get somebody to still work on the name…?)

I even made it a point to make room for butternut squash in this year’s garden.

A budding butternut squash from August.

Room is one of the main things that butternut squash will need in a backyard garden because the plant’s vines can run longer than fifteen feet.

But, for the most part, good sun, well fertilized soil, protection from pests and moderate moisture is a good recipe for butternut squash plants. Be advised that the growing season is long; somewhere between 110-120 days. We started our butternut squash seedlings inside to ensure fruit maturation by fall.

This fall, our vines are full of great looking butternut squash and I can’t believe I resisted them for so long. They will be in the garden for years to come… Thanks to my favorite recipe curator, Amanda.

Spiced Apple-Butternut Squash Soup

2015-10-20 14:01:58

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Ingredients

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped into chunks
4 apples, peeled, core and chopped
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground corriander
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
2 1/2 cups water
1 hot chili pepper (Jalapeño, poblano), finely diced or thinly sliced for garnish
Sour Cream, for garnish

Instructions

In a large sauce pan, melt butter and add onion, cooking until tender.
Add squash and cook, stirring occasionally until soft. (About ten minutes)
Add apples, salt, cumin, coriander, ginger, cayenne, black pepper, stock and the water. Bring mixture to a boil then reduce to a simmer for about thirty minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
Puree using an immersion blender or in batches using a food processor or blender and then return to the pan.
Heat pureed soup on low and thin with more water, if needed.
Serve in bowls and garnish with hot pepper and sour cream.

Notes

An immersion blender is a game changer for homemade soups. It's one of my favorite tools.

Adapted from Martha Stewart

Bloom. https://www.theblogbloom.com/

Today I had a weird thought.

Outside of a trip to get a couple lemons and some milk, I have not been to the grocery store in two weeks.

For a girl who frequents the super market at least twice throughout any other week this is kind of monumental.

The farmer’s market visit, frozen meat from Adam’s hunting trips last winter and the garden’s current bounty set us up for a great week of easy, cheap meals. It also helped to remind me that things don’t need to be complex to be delicious. So long as I have a little oil, salt and pepper, and some seasonings such as herbs, I am good.

To compliment some bacon wrapped steaks that were still in the freezer from the baby shower in July, I made this recipe with my farmer’s market beets: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/roasted-beets-with-lemon-thyme-dressing-recipe/index.html

I had never made beets, outside of the Chopping Block class, and was surprised how simple it was.

The lemon juice and thyme was a perfect way to bring out the beets natural, sweet flavor. Adam had never eaten a beet before and compared the flavor to sweet corn.

Beautiful Beets.

One thing to be aware of, beets have a very strong magenta color that can dye your fingers, clothes, table cloth, floor, counter top (etc, etc…), if you are not careful.

Another night, Adam grilled the pork from the Farmer’s Market, and I made this recipe that I found on Pinterest: http://andreasrecipes.com/sauteed-zucchini-with-tomatoes-mushrooms-peppers-and-basil-the-kids-cook-monday/

It was seriously summer on a plate, and it was made with many different garden veggies including summer squash, zucchini, bell peppers and tomatoes. I subbed a little corn shaved off a cob for the mushrooms because we had it.

My basil is still booming, flavorful as ever, and was so perfect and fresh in this dish.

“Chiffonade” is a cutting technique where a leafy vegetable or herb, like basil, is cut into small strips. This can be nearly impossible (… or at least really annoying) to accomplish when cutting a single leaf at a time.

… this is annoying.

A great skill I learned at a catering event a couple years ago when I was making bruschetta is to roll a handful of basil leaves as if you were rolling it like a cigar.

Rollin’, Rollin’, Rollin’…

Basil Cigar?

Hold the bunch together as you thinly slice the roll and it is so much easier to achieve many little thin strips, quickly.

Ahh, this is better!

Perfect, easy Chiffonade.

Our favorite of the week didn’t come from the internet or Pinterest, but was made up on a whim. I baked some summer squash in the oven that was dressed with a little grape seed oil, salt, pepper, and finished with a sprinkle of Parmesan. It was easy and tasty.

Here’s what I did:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Evenly slice, or mandolin, squash into about ¼ inch coins, place onto an ungreased cookie sheet
Drizzle with oil, salt and pepper and toss with hands to coat
Place in the oven for about seven minutes, then flip and cook for about another seven minutes. With about three minutes left sprinkle Parmesan on squash. Parmesan should just melt.
Serve immediately.

I shared this with a woman at work when I was trying to get her to take some zucchini and squash off my hands. (It was beginning to take over my kitchen…) Thankfully, she did, and she even made the recipe for her girlfriends. I received a text from her this morning asking if I could bring her more squash. Apparently, everyone loved it, and she wants to make it again for a party she’s hosting later this week.

Besides the taste and the fact that you probably have all the ingredients in your kitchen every day of the week, this recipe is so great because it is so versatile. You can grill, bake, or sauté not just zucchini or summer squash this way, but it works great with other vegetables like asparagus, brussels sprouts, or cauliflower.

Tonight, I roasted carrots from the garden this way with a little fresh rosemary.

Yummy roasted garden carrots!

Side note: Pulling my first carrots out of the ground was maybe one of the most proud moments of the garden so far. I couldn’t see them growing so when I pulled the large, orange roots from the ground I can’t even explain the feeling that came over me. I was thrilled with my carrots. I felt a sense of accomplishment. (And a little relief, as I didn’t know what to expect.)

All of this was followed by a little laughter.

I was super excited about a carrot.

What has my life come to?!

Lots of Babies and Butternut Squash

Enjoying a Hiatus from the Grocery Store