Thread: Squash Soup - making it up as I go

On Wed, 13 Oct 2010 15:14:12 -0500, Melba's Jammin'
<[email protected]> wrote:

> I baked two Uchiki Kuri squash on Sunday and nibbled on them as I was
>scooping the flesh from the shells. Lordy, they're good; no butter or
>brown sugar required to improve them.
>
>I'm making a small pot of soup now and will share it with a friend who
>also likes it. Here's what I'm about:
>
>1/2 small onion, diced and cooked slowly in butter and olive oil
>1 Haralson apple, peeld and grated, added to the onion
>1 pint homemade chicken broth, added to the pot
>Squash, enough to add substantial body to the soup
>A couple shakes of curry powder (pre-blended ‹ sosumi)
>
>I'm debating adding some rosemary. Opinions?
>I'm also going to add a dollop or two of my prize-winning apricot
>butter; it seems to me that the squash-apple-apricot combination can't
>be bad at all. :-)
>
>At some point soon, I'll take the Braun stick blender to it and puree
>it. If it's too thick, I'll add either more chicken broth or perhaps
>some (avert your eyes, Children) evaporated milk (because I don't *have*
>any half and half, that's why). Some white pepper may be in order,
>too. Tasting will tell. Stay tuned.
>
>Back to the Times site where I'm watching the live video of the rescur
>of the Chilean miners. Thanks be to Alex. I'm kind of wondering if
>Yonni Barrios is packing a machete for a little "surgery" on her wayward
>esposo. LOL! Pretty cool that el president de Chile is on the scene
>for the duration -- and I cracked up when the phone calls from the
>various Sud Americano ministers and presidents started rolling in. I'm
>imagining, "¡Hey! ¡Get el Jéfe! Brazil, Argentina, and Venezuela have
>called; we gotta offer our words, too. FIND HIM. NOW!" Okay, I have
>an imagination.

I believe that the food you call winter squash is the same as our
pumpkins here.

I make a very simple pumpkin/squash soup. I simmer the peeled pieces
in chicken stock seasoned with salt, grated black pepper and a liberal
dash of grated nutmeg for 45-60 minutes. The nutmeg does wonderful
things to the flavour.

I puree it when it's cooked and adjust thickness with a little water
if necessary. Serve with a garnish of chopped parsley and a dollop of
heavy cream.

For a sweeter soup I first roast the pumpkin/squash, lightly coated
with olive oil, in the oven until some caramelisation commences. In
that case the simmering time in the stock can be greatly reduced.

Cheers, Alan, Australia.
--
Type 2 Food: http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/2006/10/recipes.html
Travel: http://loraltravel.blogspot.com (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

On 10/13/2010 3:14 PM, Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> I baked two Uchiki Kuri squash on Sunday and nibbled on them as I was
> scooping the flesh from the shells. Lordy, they're good; no butter or
> brown sugar required to improve them.
>
> I'm making a small pot of soup now and will share it with a friend who
> also likes it. Here's what I'm about:
>
> 1/2 small onion, diced and cooked slowly in butter and olive oil
> 1 Haralson apple, peeld and grated, added to the onion
> 1 pint homemade chicken broth, added to the pot
> Squash, enough to add substantial body to the soup
> A couple shakes of curry powder (pre-blended ‹ sosumi)
>
> I'm debating adding some rosemary. Opinions?

I would go with thyme since the squash is in there.

> I'm also going to add a dollop or two of my prize-winning apricot
> butter; it seems to me that the squash-apple-apricot combination can't
> be bad at all. :-)
>
> At some point soon, I'll take the Braun stick blender to it and puree
> it. If it's too thick, I'll add either more chicken broth or perhaps
> some (avert your eyes, Children) evaporated milk (because I don't *have*
> any half and half, that's why). Some white pepper may be in order,
> too. Tasting will tell. Stay tuned.

Hey, I used five ounces of evaporated milk today in a recipe. Half and
half sits around so long I end up throwing it out.

>
> Back to the Times site where I'm watching the live video of the rescur
> of the Chilean miners. Thanks be to Alex. I'm kind of wondering if
> Yonni Barrios is packing a machete for a little "surgery" on her wayward
> esposo. LOL! Pretty cool that el president de Chile is on the scene
> for the duration -- and I cracked up when the phone calls from the
> various Sud Americano ministers and presidents started rolling in. I'm
> imagining, "¡Hey! ¡Get el Jéfe! Brazil, Argentina, and Venezuela have
> called; we gotta offer our words, too. FIND HIM. NOW!" Okay, I have
> an imagination.

Did anyone but me notice that the folks drilling the rescue hole were
speaking American English? I suspect they're the same team that has
rescued miners all over the world, true experts.

In article <[email protected]>,
Melba's Jammin' <[email protected]> wrote:

> I baked two Uchiki Kuri squash on Sunday and nibbled on them as I was
> scooping the flesh from the shells. Lordy, they're good; no butter or
> brown sugar required to improve them.
>
> I'm making a small pot of soup now and will share it with a friend who
> also likes it. Here's what I'm about:
>
> 1/2 small onion, diced and cooked slowly in butter and olive oil
> 1 Haralson apple, peeld and grated, added to the onion
> 1 pint homemade chicken broth, added to the pot
> Squash, enough to add substantial body to the soup
> A couple shakes of curry powder (pre-blended ‹ sosumi)
>
> I'm debating adding some rosemary. Opinions?
> I'm also going to add a dollop or two of my prize-winning apricot
> butter; it seems to me that the squash-apple-apricot combination can't
> be bad at all. :-)
>
> At some point soon, I'll take the Braun stick blender to it and puree
> it. If it's too thick, I'll add either more chicken broth or perhaps
> some (avert your eyes, Children) evaporated milk (because I don't *have*
> any half and half, that's why). Some white pepper may be in order,
> too. Tasting will tell. Stay tuned.

Okay, this is awesome stuff. No herbs, but I added about 1/3 cup of
apricot butter to it, a little white pepper, and some hoity-toity
Hawaiian Red Clay Sea Salt that I bought at an olive oil shop last
weekend. The stick blender made it smooth as satin. Mighty fine.

--
Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
Holy Order of the Sacred Sisters of St. Pectina of Jella
"Always in a jam, never in a stew; sometimes in a pickle."
A few pics from the Fair are here:
http://gallery.me.com/barbschaller#100254

On Wed, 13 Oct 2010 15:14:12 -0500, Melba's Jammin'
<[email protected]> wrote:

> I baked two Uchiki Kuri squash on Sunday and nibbled on them as I was
>scooping the flesh from the shells. Lordy, they're good; no butter or
>brown sugar required to improve them.
>
>I'm making a small pot of soup now and will share it with a friend who
>also likes it. Here's what I'm about:
>
>1/2 small onion, diced and cooked slowly in butter and olive oil
>1 Haralson apple, peeld and grated, added to the onion
>1 pint homemade chicken broth, added to the pot
>Squash, enough to add substantial body to the soup
>A couple shakes of curry powder (pre-blended ‹ sosumi)
>
>I'm debating adding some rosemary. Opinions?
For my taste I'd hold the rosemary and add some tarragon. Tarragon
goes very well with squash-es

>I'm also going to add a dollop or two of my prize-winning apricot
>butter; it seems to me that the squash-apple-apricot combination can't
>be bad at all. :-)
That my dear would be a home run.

>At some point soon, I'll take the Braun stick blender to it and puree
>it. If it's too thick, I'll add either more chicken broth or perhaps
>some (avert your eyes, Children) evaporated milk (because I don't *have*
>any half and half, that's why). Some white pepper may be in order,
>too. Tasting will tell. Stay tuned.
Can't wait for the results and photos.

koko
--

Food is our common ground, a universal experience
James Beard

www.kokoscornerblog.com
updated 10/11/10
Watkins natural spices
www.apinchofspices.com

In article <[email protected]>,
koko <[email protected]> wrote:

> On Wed, 13 Oct 2010 15:14:12 -0500, Melba's Jammin'
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > I baked two Uchiki Kuri squash on Sunday and nibbled on them as I was
> >scooping the flesh from the shells. Lordy, they're good; no butter or
> >brown sugar required to improve them.
> >
> >I'm making a small pot of soup now and will share it with a friend who
> >also likes it. Here's what I'm about:
> >
> >1/2 small onion, diced and cooked slowly in butter and olive oil
> >1 Haralson apple, peeld and grated, added to the onion
> >1 pint homemade chicken broth, added to the pot
> >Squash, enough to add substantial body to the soup
> >A couple shakes of curry powder (pre-blended ‹ sosumi)
> >
> >I'm debating adding some rosemary. Opinions?
> For my taste I'd hold the rosemary and add some tarragon. Tarragon
> goes very well with squash-es
>
> >I'm also going to add a dollop or two of my prize-winning apricot
> >butter; it seems to me that the squash-apple-apricot combination can't
> >be bad at all. :-)
> That my dear would be a home run.
>
> >At some point soon, I'll take the Braun stick blender to it and puree
> >it. If it's too thick, I'll add either more chicken broth or perhaps
> >some (avert your eyes, Children) evaporated milk (because I don't *have*
> >any half and half, that's why). Some white pepper may be in order,
> >too. Tasting will tell. Stay tuned.
> Can't wait for the results and photos.
>
> koko

Hah! I didn't take any pictures of this batch. Dang, it's good.
Velvety smooth. I wonder if a person could put any booze in it to
improve it -- if so, what? Maybe squash soup with hootch isn't such a
good idea.
--
Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
Holy Order of the Sacred Sisters of St. Pectina of Jella
"Always in a jam, never in a stew; sometimes in a pickle."
A few pics from the Fair are here:
http://gallery.me.com/barbschaller#100254

Barb asked:

> Velvety smooth. I wonder if a person could put any booze in it to
> improve it -- if so, what? Maybe squash soup with hootch isn't such a
> good idea.

Brandy, bourbon, or sherry come to mind.

Bob

On Thu, 14 Oct 2010 21:02:03 -0700, "Bob Terwilliger"
<virtualgoth@die_spammer.biz> wrote:

>Barb asked:
>
>> Velvety smooth. I wonder if a person could put any booze in it to
>> improve it -- if so, what? Maybe squash soup with hootch isn't such a
>> good idea.
>
>Brandy, bourbon, or sherry come to mind.

Beer is best.

In article <4cb7d22d$0$1849$c3e8da3$[email protected] m>,
"Bob Terwilliger" <virtualgoth@die_spammer.biz> wrote:

> Barb asked:
>
> > Velvety smooth. I wonder if a person could put any booze in it to
> > improve it -- if so, what? Maybe squash soup with hootch isn't such a
> > good idea.
>
> Brandy, bourbon, or sherry come to mind.
>
> Bob

Funny, but I actually thought about bourbon. I wonder if we have any. .
.. . LOL! I'm thinking I'll be making another batch today. My
neighbor didn't get so much as a whiff. ;-o)

--
Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
Holy Order of the Sacred Sisters of St. Pectina of Jella
"Always in a jam, never in a stew; sometimes in a pickle."
A few pics from the Fair are here:
http://gallery.me.com/barbschaller#100254

On Fri, 15 Oct 2010 12:13:08 -0500, Melba's Jammin'
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Funny, but I actually thought about bourbon. I wonder if we have any. .
>. . LOL! I'm thinking I'll be making another batch today. My
>neighbor didn't get so much as a whiff. ;-o)

Dorie Greenspan has a recipe for kuri soup in her new book. I haven't
made it yet, but from what I read about it on eGullet, it is
fantastic. I have been keeping my eyes open for that squash now..

Christine
--
http://nightstirrings.blogspot.com

Melba's Jammin' <[email protected]> wrote:
> I baked two Uchiki Kuri squash on Sunday and nibbled on them as I was
> scooping the flesh from the shells. Lordy, they're good; no butter or
> brown sugar required to improve them.

I had never cooked this kind of squash before so after reading your post,
and seeing some on sale at a great price, I gave it a shot. No soup yet,
just roasted two halves different ways.

I split and cleaned the squash, and brushed both halves with butter. I
seasoned one with salt, pepper, brown sugar, and cinnamon, to suit my GF. I
seasoned the other with an Asian rub I use for meats. I roasted them cut
side down for about an hour. After they were pretty tender I turned them
over and reseasoned both. On the Asian one I added some Mae Ploy sweet chile
sauce. The brown sugar one was very good. The Asian seasoned piece was
awesome. I scraped up the leftovers from both for whatever comes next.

I'm seeing some soup in my future, maybe with the asian notes again or
something completely different. I'm also wondering how this stuff would work
incorporated into something like pot stickers or some sort of roll.

Thanks! Red Kuri is way better than the usual acorn and butternut winter
squashes IMO. I'm glad you turned me on to it. I'm headed back to Hen House
today to stock up... at 50 cents a pound I see several more of these coming
home with me.

MartyB