LAST NIGHT’S SQUASH SOUP

LAST NIGHT’S SQUASH SOUP

I had a sunshine squash left over, so I peeled and cut it, washed the seeds to dehydrate, and set about to make a soup.  I developed the recipe as I went, and, of course, I did not write down anything, so here is the basic idea of the recipe.

I put in

• @ 2 T extra virgin olive oil
• @ 4 C chopped squash
• @ 1 T green Thai curry paste
• @ 1 C cashews, soaked, drained, soak water saved
• @ 1/2 C dehydrated tomatoes, soaked, drained, chopped, soak water saved
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 1/4 C sauerkraut

1. I added everything to the VitaMix and processed it, adding a little more water to give it a creamy soup texture.
2. Because there was so much, I ended up having to divide it in half for final processing.
3. To serve, I sprinkled a little tomato powder on top.

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SQUASH SOUP WITH THAI CURRY PASTE

I made squash soup with green Thai curry paste. First I cut the squash in half.

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I washed and saved the nice fat squash seeds to dehydrate. You can eat pumpkin seeds, right? Why not squash seeds. Actually, I plan to make “milk” or add them to crackers, or use them to thicken something. I will figure it out later, when I have enough of them to use for something.

I cut the squash halves in quarters and began to peel the quarters with a knife.

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Do not use a knife to peel squash (particularly if the squash is “bumpy”, like a pumpkin, or an acorn squash. DO NOT USE A KNIFE. I so mean it. I am not fooling. Do you see that funny red color on the middle finger? Yes? I did not show you the real finger with all the gore. (I do not have health insurance, so, when I neatly sliced my finger almost in two, I did not go to the hospital at 9 pm at night. I walked calmly to the bathroom and washed the deep wound — have you ever seen muscle? it is interesting. I poured tea tree oil on it and then lavender oil on it, and then I screamed really loud. Then I walked calmly back to the kitchen and put on a lab glove, to prevent the blood getting on the food — yes, it is raw, but I wanted vegan) DO NOT USE A KNIFE TO PEEL SQUASH -particularly not if you use sharp knives. (my room-mate saw my hand in the glove just before dinner and professionally bandaged my finger) I got out the vegetable peeler (after I put on the glove). I did not use it initially because it is hard to get in the grooves of a “bumpy” squash, but, as you can imagine, I got over that attitude. I like this peeler. It beats the average American potato peeler because it is more comfortable to hold, and it peels a wide range easily. I cut the peeled sqush into pieces and put it into the food processor. * * I processed the squash as fine as I thought it should be. Then I added about 1-1/2 cups of almond milk with vanilla (that was what I had on hand, and I thought it would work). I added about 1-1/2 tablespoons green Thai curry paste, and about 1 T garlic, and I processed some more. Then I got the wild idea to put everything in the VitaMix, because I know that the VitaMix will heat things up. This is the finished soup. My room-mate liked it. I ate it because it was dinner (see below). * * HOW I WILL IMPROVE THIS RECIPE The next time I make this (I will make it again, because I believe it can work and be delicious), I will use straight almond milk (or any other nut milk, or maybe even squash seed milk), with no additives. I found the vanilla distasteful, although my room-mate liked the taste. She ate up all of her portion, and saved the leftovers– which I would have thrown out– for *breakfast*) I would not process the creamed soup in the VitaMix. What I got back was a nice creamy soup ( but it had bubbles all through it, which I found distasteful). I think that, if I add enough of the “creme” ingredient into the food processor, I can get something I can live with. I really did not like the bubbles in the VitaMix soup… they actually made me sick to my stomach — must be the education that bubbles are introducing air into the stomach. If I want to heat it, I can always put it in the dehydrator for an hour (have never tried it, but many cooks suggest it) My rating on this recipe would be a 3 out of 4. I was not crazy about it, but my room-mate scarfed it up.