Friday Night Happy Story: Thanksgiving!

by: Jill Richardson

Fri Nov 14, 2008 at 20:31:35 PM PST

So that everyone can participate, Eat Well Guide and Consumers Union are giving out a number of tools to help. Starting with, of course, Eat Well Guide itself. It's a website I rely on as a Google (and Google Maps) of food. Put in your zip code, and it returns where you can buy local, organic food. Or, use their travel tool: enter where you are and where you're going, and they will tell you where to eat along the way.

Then, anyone who participates is encouraged to share their recipes and stories. I've already entered in my recipe for baked delicata squash, which I first made when I received a delicata squash from my CSA a few years ago.

Celebrity chefs have kicked off the recipe-sharing by sharing a few of their own. Alice Waters shared a chard gratin recipe. Scroll down on the page to see recipes from Dan Barber (brussel sprouts) and Mario Batali (butternut squash). Below, I've included a pumpkin soup recipe from my friend Destin, director of Eat Well Guide.

This recipe uses some of my favorite vegetables and spices, and I recommend serving the soup with steamed kale (or other greens from the farmers market) and rice or hearty bread on the side. Pumpkin soup is a delight to make and your house will be filled with a wonderful aroma! You should not shy away from this recipe if you haven't cooked with pumpkin before, or if you don't have all of the ingredients or spices. Feel free to adjust the recipe to what you have on hand.

Ingredients:
1 - 2 Pounds Fresh Sugar Pumpkin, seed and skin removed, diced (you may substitute 100% canned organic pumpkin if necessary)
1 Pound Farmer's Market Butternut or Acorn Squash, peeled and diced (optional)
4 Tablespoons of Chopped Fresh Ginger (to taste)
4-5 Tablespoons of Diced Fresh Garlic (to taste)
1 Sweet Yellow Onion, sliced thin
1 Red Onion, diced for garnish
Bunch Celery, diced
Bunch Leeks, diced
1 Can Coconut Milk
Spices (to your taste, just use what you have) Ginger, Garlic, Cumin, Coriander, Clove,Cumin, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Tumeric, Garam Masala, Crushed Red Pepper, Chili Pepper, Black Pepper, Sea Salt
2 Tablespoons of Toasted Sesame Oil
Touch of Sweetner (Maple Syrup/Brown Sugar)
Vegetable/Chicken Broth (optional)
Splash of Vinegar (Apple Cider Vinegar or another)

Directions:
To start, pick up a pumpkin from your local farmer's market (and a small squash if you'd like to blend), along with some celery, leeks, and onions. Cut up and layer all these organic vegetables with the diced garlic and ginger, spices. Mix in plenty of olive oil and salt, and roast at 350 degrees until everything is soft (about 45 minutes). Transfer half of the roasted vegetables, in batches if necessary, to a blender or food processor and add can of coconut milk and spice (I added extra cinnamon and chili pepper). Or use an immersion blender directly in the pot. Cover tightly and blend until smooth. Return soup to saucepan on stove and mix in the remaining roasted vegetables and coconut milk, along with a splash of vinegar and toasted sesame oil. Adjust seasonings to taste. With the soup on low heat, you might want to add a touch of salt and sweetener (maple syrup/brown sugar), and mix. If the soup is a little too spicy or thick add vegetable broth or organic chicken broth.

Tips:
Serve warm in individual bowls and garnish with chopped red onion, chopped peanuts, and parsley before serving with steamed kale or other greens. I don't measure when I cook so the measurements are a rough approximation, I always think it's best to let your tongue be the judge and measure ingredients according to taste. Enjoy!!

Yes, I used the Eat Well Guide to find a local farmers market. I enjoyed making this soup and will have it for a few days.