Kobacha Squash Soup

In an attempt to use some of this yummy fall produce in front of me on the counter, I decided to pick up the kobacha squash and think of what to do! With a wife that loves soup, and some extra red skin potatoes and mushrooms on hand, I decided to go for a nice squash soup with roasted mushrooms and potatoes. As a bonus, I also wanted to use this cool squash as the bowl.

Before I started with the squash, I cut up 4 redskins, and prepped about a pint and a half of button mushrooms (I left them whole). Tossed them with some salt and olive oil and put them in the oven at 400 for about 25 minutes ... meanwhile,  I prepped the squash.

 

 

I cut a thin slice off the top and bottom of the squash so it would sit flat, and then proceeded to gut it. I cored out the seeds with a spoon, and then tried a couple different methods to scrape the squash out of the shell (leaving some of it intact for the bowl).

 

One of the halves I simply used a spoon and knife to scrape/chunk out the flesh while still raw. Not easy, but it worked. The other half I put upside down in a dish of water and cooked it on high in the microwave for about 4 minutes. My only concern was that the microwave method would render the shell too soft to use as a bowl. However with the short cooking time it was fine, and will be the method that I'll use again in the future. If it's too hard to scrape out, stick it in for another minute at a time, but just make sure you don't overcook the shell as you want it stable for the bowl. I found that if you leave about a quarter inch of squash in the bowl it will give it enough stability for serving.

 

I took what I scraped out, put it in a small saucepan without about 2 cups of chicken stock, and cooked it until the squash was soft enough to puree (I used an immersion blender to accomplish the task as it's the best tool for the job in my opinion). Once it was reduced a bit (about half) I did end up using some cornstarch/water to thicken it. Seasoned it to taste and I was ready to put it all together.

 

 

 

Once the mushrooms and potatoes were ready, I placed some of each of them in the bowls. Then filled them with the squash soup and topped them with a little greek yogurt and some freshly ground pepper. I placed the extra mushrooms and potatoes out on the platter and served!

 

 

 

DELICIOUS!

 

Happy eating,

~Matt

 

Kale Chips



In the last few weeks, I think about 6 people mentioned Kale Chips! I finally had to try them out myself. There seem to be multiple methods to cooking them but I decided to try this and they came out great! First of all, I decided to try this out with some baby kale I got from Organic Girl. Trimmed, washed, and ready to go just made this 'trial job' a lot easier. (If you plan to use regular kale on the stalk, just rip the leaves off, chop them into large sizes, and use the same method, but you may need to adjust the cooking time).

 

My wife also heard Rachel Ray mention that she liked using fresh grated nutmeg so I thought I'd give it a whirl too.

 

 

So to get started, get your oven up to 300 degrees.

 

Meanwhile, take the kale (I used 6 cups of baby kale) and toss them with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1/4t salt, and some grated nutmeg until nice and coated. Then I spread them out on a cookie sheet with a cooling rack on it (to keep them off the bottom in order to cook/dry more evenly)

 

At 300 (with the convection fan on) it took about 30 minutes. I have seen other recipes broil them, and while likely quicker, I think 300 is great as it is very forgiving with regards to timing. I checked them after 30 minutes and they still needed a bit more (of course this depends on the type, amount, etc.) so I put them in for another 5-10 minutes. At 300 I wasn't too concerned about them quickly burning on me, so I may continue to use this method.

 

Once they are dry and crispy to the touch, you can take them out and they should look something like this.

 

 

They easily slide right off and you can set them in a bowl and start munching! I would recommend you put them in an airtight container and keep for a few days, but I doubt they will make it an hour! :) Enjoy!

 

 

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

So you carved your pumpkins and you likely are left wondering what to do with the seeds right? You know you want to roast them, but it just seems like a task not worth completing, right?

 

What? You threw them away? Tell me you did not!

Oh, you were joking ... good ... phew! Then let's chat! It's actually super simple. First all you have to do is rinse them, pat them dry, and lay them on a cookie sheet in a thin layer. Don't go too crazy worrying about the pumpkin bits. They come off real easy, but a few pieces here and there are fine. You do know it is a squash right? Eating it is an option! :)

 

 

Spray the pan with non-stick spray (I didn't use oil to keep it even more healthy), and sprinkle them with some salt (or other flavors if you wish). I had two batches, and one I make with salt and my homemade chipotle! (http://greatfooddaily.blogspot.com/2012/09/smokin-hot.html)

 

Just throw them in a 325 degree oven, take them out after 10-15 minutes, spray again, and toss them around, and then put them back in the oven for another 15 minutes or until they look like this! Yumm! 

 

 

 

 

Oh, and bonus, you get to have cool looking pumpkins too! The more you carve, the more seeds you eat! Happy Halloween! =)

 

Chili Lime Avocado

 

This is one of my favorite quick, healthy, and filling snacks. I first saw it on Rachel Ray (at least I think I did), but all you do is split the avocado, score it with a knife (checkerboard pattern) and squeeze in some lime (and I've used lemon before too) juice as well as sprinkling some chili powder on top.

 

Let it sit for about 20 minutes and dig in. I usually split it with my wife, but could easily eat the whole avocado! Not super low-cal obviously, but your body will be much more thankful for this than a Snickers! Enjoy!

 

~Matt