Reason #387: Why preserving food is so awesome…

Reason #387:  …Because you will fall down on your knees, weeping with pleasure, from the taste of last season’s tomatoes when early spring finally arrives.  Your canned salsa will give you hope that summer will appear once again.

Ok, this is a little melodramatic… but homemade salsa does help when it comes time to eating leftovers.  This afternoon I was looking at a pretty empty fridge – some leftover baked beans, eggs, sprouts, and the usual condiments – and inspiration hit!

I took the leftover beans and added some garlic-chili paste, and mashed them up a bit.  I spread this on some warm corn tortilla, and topped it with some scrambled eggs, salsa, and sprouts.

Delicious!

Do you have any stories of using up your leftovers in creative ways that turned out really great?  Share your stories in the comments below!

Yours in Food,

Alison

Auspicious Arugula

Curious about arugula?  Looking forward to spring greens? Whitney Hughes, Ashley Cooper, Liz Muggah, Andrea Clarke and Brianne Barteaux, nutrition students at Acadia University, tell us all about it.

Arugula is a leafy salad green, much like spinach. It is very nutrient dense, but not as commonly eaten as other greens. We hope this blog post will be informative, spark an interest in trying this vegetable, and encourage you to be adventurous in your everyday produce selections.

Arugula is a very simple green to cultivate, best grown in the late spring or early summer in mild weather. A sunny location is ideal for best growth results. If you plant arugula in the late summer, it should be in a shaded area or covered by cloth for protection.  Arugula is quite picky, as it does not like to grow in intense heat but prefers cool temperatures. Once the seeds have been planted, the soil should be kept moist until seedlings’ appear which usually takes 1 to 2 weeks. When the plant has reached 1 to 2 inches it is ready to be picked.

The plant reaches 3 to 4 inches when it is fully grown. At this point you can either cut the leaves and use them as needed, or pull up the entire plant. If only the leaves are cut, they will regrow for future use. Keep in mind that the younger the plant, the more tender and tastier the leaves will be! At full growth, arugula flowers will appear, which can also be used in salad for a mild taste addition.

Arugula is sold by the bunch or in loose leaves, both in the store and at the local market. When buying arugula, look for undamaged dark leaves, as damaged leaves will not last long.

Arugula, like most leafy vegetables, is low in calories and high in vitamins and minerals. The fibre content for 2 cups of arugula is 1.6 grams. About 20% of your daily recommended intake of vitamin C is found in one serving of arugula, along with half of your days worth of Vitamin A. Arugula is a good source of Folate, providing one quarter of your recommended daily intake.

There are many different ways to eat arugula. The most common way is in a salad, however there are many other creative ways that it can be presented. Arugula can be a spicy addition to your favourite sandwich, a tangy stuffing, or a powerful pesto that is a great complement to many soups and sauces, and can even be used as a pizza topping!

Since vitamin C is both heat and water sensitive preparing the vegetable with care is vital to retain nutrients. Sautéing is the most common way to cook arugula, so keep in mind that minimum cooking time is best!  To prepare arugula, trim the roots and stems from the leaves and rinse vigorously in cold water. To dry the leaves, blot them with a towel. Now your arugula is ready to rock in the bowl! If salad is not your thing, cooking arugula might be! When heated, the texture and colour of arugula will be limp and dark green much like spinach.

Arugula does not keep for very long; it is advised to use arugula soon after purchase. It can keep for about 2-3 days refrigerated if you put it in a perforated plastic bag and storing it with damp paper towel to help maintain its quality and flavour. Cook arugula briefly if you plan to freeze it.

Arugula Salad with Beets and Goat Cheese Recipe

Salad Ingredients:
½ cup Beets – (boiled until a fork easily goes in it, about an hour), peeled, sliced into strips
2 cups Fresh arugula – rinsed, patted dry with a paper towel
½ cup Goat cheese – chevre
½ cup Walnuts – chopped

Dressing ingredients:
1/3 cup Olive oil
3 tbsp Lemon
¼ tsp Dry powdered mustard
1 tbsp Sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD
The amount of ingredients depends on how many people you are serving and how much salad you intend to serve them. The important thing is that this is a good blend of flavors. I didn’t try tossing this salad; each plate was composed individually.

The dressing for three individual salads was 1/4 cup of olive oil, 1/2 lemon, 1/4 teaspoon of powdered mustard, 3/4 teaspoon of sugar, salt and pepper to taste.

Assemble the salad according to how much you want. A handful of arugula leaves, a few beet juliennes, some crumbled goat cheese, garnish with chopped walnuts. Toss with the dressing.

Root for the Carrot

Crazy for carrots?  Haley Drayton, Laura Estabrooks, Sophie Phang, Kristi Schofield & Jenna Whitlock, nutrition students at Acadia University, tell us all about this lovely root vegetable.

Nutritional Value: Carrots are popular for good reason as they have numerous health benefits. Carrots may be white, red, yellow, orange or purple. Each type of carrot contains slightly varying amounts of antioxidants; however; they all contain many beneficial nutrients. This root vegetable is most well known for being a great source of the antioxidant beta carotene which is converted to Vitamin A in the body making carrots a great source of this vitamin. Vitamin A is known for being for its benefits to your skin, eyes and immune system. Other than Vitamin A, carrots are also sources of Vitamin K and C. They contain insoluble fibre which aids in digestion. There are approximately 50 calories in one cup of cooked carrot.

Food Preparation: Carrots can be served in their raw form or cooked. They may be grated and used in baking or added to salads and other recipes. They come in many varieties of packaging and sizes. Baby-cut carrots are small and great for snacking, while regular carrots are more likely to be cooked and served with a meal.

Impacts of Cooking: Common methods for cooking carrots include steaming, boiling, braising, roasting, stir frying and microwaving. These cooking techniques emphasize the natural sugars in carrots creating a caramelized exterior. Carrots are an excellent source of carotene which gives carrots their bright orange color.  The acidity of the water carrots are boiled in will not modify the color of the carotenoid pigment. When carrots are boiled for a long time the nutrients in the carrot can migrate towards the water. Nearly every food preparation process that involves high levels of heat, light and oxygen reduces the amount of nutrients in foods. Carrots should only be cooked until they are tender crisp to ensure maximum flavour and nutritional value.

Recipe: Simple Honey Glazed Baby Carrots

Ingredients:

1 1/2 to 2 pounds baby carrots

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons honey

3 tablespoons packed brown sugar

juice of 1/2 lemon

freshly ground black pepper or chopped parsley, for garnish

Preparation:

• Rinse carrots under cold water and put in a medium saucepan. Cover with water and add salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and continue cooking for about 15 minutes, or until tender. Drain and set aside.
• In a saute pan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add honey and brown sugar and cook, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Add the lemon juice and gently stir in carrots, coating well. Continue heating, gently stirring, until carrots are hot and glazed. Serve immediately garnished with freshly ground pepper or chopped parsley, if desired.

Cabbage Girl

This video is from Cabbage Girls (and Acadia University nutrition students) Elise Sanderson, Breanna Hiltz, Pauline Wolak, Samara Ohm, and Merissa McBride.  Ever wondered about the scandals of the cabbage patch?  Check it out…

**This Just In**

Cabbage Girl here,

Reporting from the fertile soils of the upper east side of the Annapolis Valley.

Being situated in Nova Scotia, I have the perfect growing conditions, where the weather is generally rainy and overcast so I can be planted away from the summer sun. Where I come from, the cabbages are grown from roots, however it has been rumoured by the carrots that the farm next to us grows their cabbages from seeds. We’ll see who grows better for upcoming market! After the cooling weather of fall, I will have developed my main head.

Spotted! Four red cabbages, one row over, dating four green cabbages two rows over. Only one couple made it to the end. The first couple had to end their relationship when one of them was not picked in time and developed a cracked head. He was discarded, leaving his girlfriend to be shipped to the market alone. Couple two had a slightly rougher time as the boyfriend witnessed his girlfriend getting a fungal infection causing her to develop Fusarium wilt. He noticed something was wrong when her growth was stunted and the disease just made her weaker and weaker, causing her leaves to brown and eventually … she died. The third unfortunate relationship was torn apart by the worst disease known to the cabbage world: the black leg. It’s an infectious fungal disease and both cabbages were found with black cankers on their stems. As the disease is highly infectious, they were both discarded.

Word in the garden is that the cabbage, Bob, spread it; we always thought his leaves were a little dirty.  The fourth couple just so happened to avoid all potential mishaps that cabbages can endure during their lifetime; they were made into a tasty coleslaw and were together forever.
In a few hours, the farmers will come around to harvest the freshest and finest cabbages for a road trip to the market. The farmers must cut the cabbages at the base of the stem and then throw them into a container to be hauled away. It is always a busy time as all of the cabbages are eager to see who returns after the day and who doesn’t.

We cabbages are versatile in the ways that we can be stored and used. If eaten raw, we need to be consumed within the first few days of harvesting. However, if being cooked, we can wait for up to two weeks before we rot. Best of all, we can be pickled to be enjoyed year round.

Although we may not be the most beautiful vegetable in the garden, we have many hidden nutritional benefits that often consumers are not aware of. We are a high source of dietary fiber, vitamin C, folate, calcium and iron. Measured out to a cup, we only have 22 calories and no fat. Our mild flavour makes us compatible with many other food commodities to aid in making a delectable dish. Our texture can vary depending on how we are served; we are tougher if raw than if cooked. If you dare take a knife to our head, make sure to use stainless steel to avoid discolouration. If you attempt to suffocate me in a pot, I will ruin your dinner party by releasing volatile sulfuric compounds caused by the breakdown of isothylcynates, so be sure to keep the lid off! Don’t mess with the cabbages. However, to help you out, you can enhance our external beauty by cooking us in a bit of acid, which will bring out our natural pigment.

Here comes the farmer to inspect my beautiful leaves… see you at the market!!

XOXO, Cabbage Girl

Fun-ion with Onions!

This post was written by Jennifer Josey, Katie Walsh, Laura Bellussi, Emily Riddle, Jill Conrod, 
and Julia Hunter, nutrition students at Acadia University. Thanks for sharing your onion facts and recipes!

Basic Information: Onions are a versatile, often overlooked and underestimated vegetable. Onions are planted in April and harvested in late July and early August. They are first planted in seed trays and then transferred to the field as they begin to sprout. The ideal conditions for onions to grow and thrive are moist ground and soil, and warm temperatures. When buying onions, they should be firm and shiny. The skin of the onions should be green in colour to ensure freshness. After purchasing, onions should be stored in a cool, dry, well-ventilated area. This will prolong the shelf life of the produce. To keep left over, unused onions they can be wrapped in plastic and stored in the refrigerator. To prepare an onion for use, rinse the bulb under cool water and scrub with a brush to remove dirt and any residue. The outer skin of the onion should then be peeled to reveal the inner usable flesh.

Nutritional Value: Aside from being incredibly scrumptious, onions are also nutritious! A large raw onion contains approximately 60 calories, 0.2 grams of fat, 0 mg of cholesterol, 6 mg of sodium, 14 grams of carbs (including 2.6 grams of fibre and 6.4 grams of sugars), 1.6 grams of protein and nutrients such as calcium, iron, and vitamin C, which will help to boost your immune system All of these nutrients are essential in a healthy diet. The impacts of cooking on the nutrients in onions are slim to none; the loss of nutrients is small enough that it can be ignored.

Food Preparation: The ways in which onions can be used in food preparation and cooking are many and varied. When raw, onions are crisp, with a distinct flavour. Raw onions can be used in dishes such as salads and sandwiches. When cooked or sautéed, onions become soft and translucent and their flavour mellows. If sautéed for long enough, onions will caramelize and their flavour becomes sweet. Cooked onions can be used as a condiment on many foods, similar to raw onions, as well as in soups, stews, and stir-fries.

Here is a delicious and easy recipe for onion dip, which is great with almost any cracker or dipping bread.

Onion Dip
2 tablespoons olive oil
1½ cups diced onions
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 ½ cups plain yogurt
¾ cup mayonnaise
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:
In a frying pan over medium heat add oil. Heat the pan and add onions and salt. Cook the onions until they are caramelized, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Mix the rest of the ingredients together, and then add the cooled onions. Refrigerate and stir again before serving.

Winter Squash – Affordable, Healthy, and Delicious

Speaking of squash, here’s a little more information about this nutritious vegetable, from the nutrition students at Acadia University.

With growing interest in local foods, many of us have certainly wondered what are some of the most common fresh vegetables grown in Nova Scotia. Whether you are shopping at a local farmers’ market or at a bigger grocery chain, you have surely come across one of the most affordable products that is widely produced in the Annapolis Valley and across the province: the squash. While it may be intimidating for first time users, it is easy-to-prepare, and nutritionally exceptional. Truthfully, there are few other options than squash when it comes to choosing a product that is cheap, delicious, and healthy.

Squash come in many different varieties, each having its own colour, shape, taste and size.  Farmers usually wait for their land to warm up before planting seeds and they harvest squash later in September. Products are often cured in the sun to dry the outer skin and then placed in barns for storage. Because squash is commonly sold throughout the fall and the winter, local farmers often wrap it in blankets to prevent damage from extreme cold conditions.

When you purchase squash make sure to choose those that are firm and heavy for their size, have bright and glossy exteriors, and are free of nicks, bruises or soft spots. With proper storage, winter squash can be kept up to three to six months. Squash does not need refrigeration, and a shelf in a cool, dark basement is often the best place to store it. To avoid early spoilage, do not cut or wash any squash that you wish to keep for long periods of time, as the extra moisture can promote spoilage.

Whether you are buying a butternut or a buttercup squash, most winter varieties they possess a vibrant orange colour, a creamy texture, and a sweet flavour. For this reason squash can be easily incorporated in a number of recipes, including desserts. It can be used for salads, soups, casseroles, pies, or even served as a stand-alone item. It pairs well with herbs like sage, rosemary, nutmeg, and cinnamon, as well as with nuts and fruits like pecans, walnuts, apples, pears, and cranberries which enhance its naturally sweet taste. It can be baked, steamed, grilled, puréed, microwaved, boiled or fried. Cooking deepens the squash’s natural orange colour while creating a soft and velvety texture. It also gradually transforms its raw bland starchy-like taste to a rich caramel-like flavour.

Depending on the recipe, peeling may not be necessary. Simply cut your squash in half, scoop out the seeds, lightly coat the inside with olive oil and bake it for about 40 minutes in the oven at 350˚F. Keep the seeds, as they can be cleaned and roasted in the oven and used for snacks or added to soups or baked goods like breads and muffins.

Squash is an extremely good source of vitamins, minerals and fibre. It is also low in energy and fats, so you do not have to worry about consuming too much of it. A cup of baked butternut squash contains only 87 calories and provides you with more than your daily requirement of vitamin A. It also contains half of the vitamin C that you need in a day and is rich in potassium, manganese, folate, iron and calcium. Nutrients are affected by cooking time and the methods used. Steaming small cubes of squash for 7 minutes is one the best ways to retain nutrients. Keep in mind, that adding liquids will reduce the amount of vitamin C and folate, which are water-soluble vitamins. If boiling, keep the cooking liquid, and incorporate it in other recipes.

Here is a great recipe to enjoy a locally produced Nova Scotia butternut squash.

Garlicky Baked Butternut Squash (from allrecipes.com)
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

In a large bowl, combine the parsley, oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Add squash and toss to coat.
Transfer to an ungreased shallow 2-qt. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees F for 50-55 minutes or until squash is just tender
Makes 6 servings.

Many thanks to Jessica Thoje, Yicong Liao, Gaokgakala Evelyn Kgomontwa, Alissa Harker, Alberto Accardi, nutrition students at Acadia University for their super squash tips.

Learning About Leeks is Nothing to Cry About

This post comes to you from the nutrition students at Acadia University, and it’s the first of several from the Food Commodities course.  Curious about the nutritional value of some of your favourite local foods?  We have some answers for you!  A big thanks to the students and their professor, Barb Anderson!  This post was written by Abigail Georgitis, Marley Bowen, Danielle Kardynal, Jacquelyn Caravella, and Chelsey Spinney.

Ever wondered what that giant version of a green onion sitting in the produce section of your grocery store is? As it turns out, it’s a leek, which is a cousin to onion and garlic. Leeks come in various packaging, but most often you will see bunches just loosely tied or banded together. They are available year round in some major grocery stores and the seasonal availability in most local Nova Scotia farm markets is roughly August until December, sometimes extending all the way into March! An interesting tidbit: the Roman Emperor Nero regularly ate leeks, so they have been used dating back to the first century.

Leeks grow well in a cool climate, so Nova Scotia is an ideal location! They grow well in variable soil conditions, especially in a well-fertilized one, as long as it is not too wet. When they’re about 2 inches wide and roughly 15 inches long, they have matured enough to harvest. At this point you can harvest them easily by scooping under the bulb with a gardening fork. If you refrigerate your leek fresh from the ground, it is so hardy it can easily last up to a month. Leeks may be processed by trimming and discarding damaged top leaves. The renewed popularity of the root cellar helps with storage of leeks, as they can be stored there for some time.

In comparison to many other food products, the way in which leeks are cooked can have a significant impact on the resulting nutritional value. If you intend to cook them and want to retain most of the nutrients, it is suggested to steam leeks without a cover so as not to lose as many nutrients as you would by boiling them directly in water. Over or undercooking leeks can affect the texture, but will not greatly change their flavour. When cooked, the green coloring of the leek will darken very faintly, and if overcooked the leaf will turn a drab, muted green.

And what is the nutritional value of a leek, anyway? You may be surprised to find out, but these often-undervalued green monsters are just chock-full of nutrients! Want to help your cardiovascular health? Eat a leek! They contain a large amount of the flavonoid kaempferol, which has been shown to help our cardiovascular system. Leeks also contain antioxidants that protect our blood vessels and cells from damage. Antioxidants may help prevent certain types of cancer and that’s not all…leeks are a great source of folate. This is good for everyone but especially for women who are in childbearing age or may be in the first stages of pregnancy. Vitamin C, manganese, iron, and vitamin B₆ are also present in leeks, which are considered a low calorie vegetable. At only sixteen calories per half a cup, leeks contain many nutrients and are a tasty addition to any meal!

Speaking of adding leeks to meals, here are a few ways to dish it up. As leeks are similar to onions, they can be a flavor booster to soups (cream of leek, or as an additive to flavor other soups and stews), mixed into salads, as a garnish, or a flavor enhancer for a roast, baked dishes and many other recipes.  Cooking leeks is easy as well as they can be roasted, served in a stir-fry, baked on their own, or even served raw. Do you have leftover fresh leeks? They can last anywhere from five days to two weeks, depending on how you store them. If you have just purchased leeks and are not planning on using them that day, don’t trim them before refrigerating. It is also best to refrigerate the vegetable and not to can or freeze leeks. Wrap them in plastic or put them in a sealed container, otherwise the smell might ‘leek’ out to the rest of your food. Toss it in your crisper and they’re good to go until you’re ready to use them!

It is starting to get a little chilly outside, so here is a quick and easy winter-warmer soup, made with leeks and other produce you can find at your local farmer’s market!

Pumpkin, Sweet Potato and Leek Soup

(from http://allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 leeks, chopped
• 1 small white onion, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 small carrot, chopped
• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 medium sugar pumpkin, seeded and cubed
• 2 Tbsp chopped garlic
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh sage
• 1 pinch ground cloves
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• 1 pinch ground cinnamon
• salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a heavy-bottom pot. Add leeks, onion, celery, carrot, sweet potatoes, pumpkin and garlic and sauté until they start to brown.
2. Add bay leaf, stock and cream; bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until all vegetables are tender.
3. Add sage, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt and pepper to taste. Remove bay leaf and puree. Serve hot. Makes about 8 servings.

 

The Season in Review

Ahh… December 1.  With the gardens put to bed, the cupboards full of preserves and the root cellar stocked, the food action committee has finally had some time to reflect on the growing season.  Here’s a short slide show of some of our favourite photos from the season:

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For details from any of our workshops, search this blog and our sister blog at the Halifax Garden Network.

Yours in food,

Marla

Homemade Grape Juice

We moved to our property on the Eastern Shore last November.  It was great to walk around the yard this spring and summer to see what new perennials were popping up, and to discover the wild blueberries in the back woods.  Midway through the summer, I started noticing the ominous growth of something viney and leafy in the ‘wild’ corner of my front yard.  Something vaguely grapey… but surely the growth of vines 20 feet up the birch tree couldn’t be grapes??

They certainly did end up being grape vines - masses and masses of grape vines of an unknown variety.  It was a big project to cut the vines down this fall in order to save the trees – there were a few 6-foot spruce trees that had been holding up a portion of the vine mass that now have curved, sickle-like tops.  (I know where my Charlie Brown style Christmas tree is going to come from this year!)  We harvested the grapes once the vines were cut down – many of them were underripe, overripe, or damaged – but we still managed to gather up around four 5-gallon buckets of ripe grapes.  Many were given away to grape-loving Food Action Committee members, but I saved about eight gallons or so to make some juice!  I’m not much of a jelly fan, but who doesn’t like grape juice?

The first step was washing, cleaning and sorting the fruit.  The cleaned grapes went in a big pot with just enough water to cover them.  Once the pot got close to boiling, I mashed the berries down (some recipes called for mashing the grapes at the very beginning, but I found them a lot easier to mash once they started cooking up a bit.)

I kept them just under a simmer for another 15 minutes or so, and then drained them into a new pot through a cheescloth lined colander.  A new batch of berries was started up, and then drained into the same big pot when it was done cooking.

 

I let the big pot of unsweetened juice settle in my cool sunroom for a day or so to let the sediment collect at the bottom.  Then I carefully drained the juice back into another pot, added some sugar to taste and let it come to a boil before canning it in 1 litre jars.

Voila, Grape Juice!  It’s a concentrated juice that tastes great with a bit of soda water.

We left a good chunk of the root system to start again next year, but hopefully we’ll be able to manage the growth a little better so we can actually access the grapes without yanking down the vines!

Yours in Food,

Alison

Meal planning and a supper of squash soup

Oh little neglected blog… how I’ve missed you.

It’s been one of those months when too many things have been crammed into too few days.  And updating the blog has fallen off my to-do list.  But, I’m back!  (More to come about my recent travels and conferences.)

I came to the realization this weekend that the only thing I had cooked in over two weeks was spaghetti.  All the other meals were in restaurants and at conferences.  Though fun for a while, I’ve definitely been missing my kitchen.  So, the theme of today’s post is getting back on the homemade local food wagon.

Friday night, in a moment of inspiration I made a meal plan for the week.  I love meal plans.  And I hadn’t done one in ages.  Here’s how I meal plan:

First, I take a peek at my schedule and my partner’s schedule and figure out how many nights we’ll actually be home for dinner.  On any given week, I generally plan 4-6 suppers.  This leaves space for nights when we have dinner with friends, go out to eat, have a sudden craving for something that’s not on the list, or simply want to make spaghetti or grilled cheese sandwiches (these are my go-to meals, for nights when I don’t feel like cooking).

On the meal plan this week:
- Squash soup with roasted vegetables
- Minestrone with either roasted vegetables or a winter salad of grated beets & cabbage
- Homemade pizza
- Quinoa salad with peanut sauce

I choose meals based on what ingredients are already in the house and what’s in season.  And I cook enough so that we have leftovers for lunch the next day.  In the case of soups, I often make enough that we can freeze some for a later date.

So, last night was squash soup and roasted veggies.  I don’t have a recipe per se, but here’s the general method:

Step 1: Roast the squash.  (I did this earlier in the day using Alison’s method.)

Step 2: Peel (if necessary) and chop root veggies.  I used potatoes, sweet potatoes, beets, and turnip last night.  You could throw in onions, garlic, squash, rutabaga, carrots, or parsnips.  Whatever you like!  Drizzle with oil and roast at 350 for 45 minutes to 1 hour.  Stir occasionally.

Step 3.  While the veggies are roasting, make the soup.  Chop up an onion.  Saute for 5 minutes or until soft.  I like to add carrots to my squash soup, and sometimes sweet potatoes, apples, or pears.  It’s flexible, so add in what you like.  When the onions are soft, add the veggies above, as well as a couple cloves of garlic (chopped), some ginger (a tbsp or so), a dash of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.  Also add salt and pepper. You may need to add some water at this point, so the veggies don’t stick to the bottom.  When the carrots have softened, add the roasted squash.  Simmer the soup and stir frequently.  It’s probably quite thick, so add some water or stock.  At this stage, it’s generally the consistency of apple sauce.

Step 4: When the vegetables are soft, blend the soup with an immersion blender or a regular blender.  Return to pot and add at least a half a can of coconut milk (sometimes I’ll add a full can, if the squash was large).  Taste to adjust seasonings.  I like this soup very ginger-y.  Sometimes I add a little maple syrup to sweeten.

By this point, the roasted vegetables should be just about done.

Voila! Dinner is served.

How do you plan your meals?  What’s on the menu for this week?