Wednesday, March 28, 2012
The makings of squash soup: butternut and acorn squash, celery root (or celery), onion, garlic, sweet potatoes, olive oil, and veggie scraps for stock.
I’m really excited to post another set of videos, this time on squash soup. A story in four parts, today will begin with the intro to the series and veggie prep. Later this week I’lll finish soup number one with you, which is basic squash soup. This version is made with butternut, acorn, and sweet potatoes, actually, because that’s what inspired me at the farm market during these final days of autumn/winter produce. I’ve made the same soup with only butternut. Use whatever you like!
I’m posting the intro and prep separately today for two reasons. First, I’m trying to keep things succinct, which as you know is a challenge for me both in writing and video. On a more practical note, however, you might consider roasting the squashes on a separate day. It’s really quick to make the soup, but the rate limiting step is roasting the veggies, which takes about 45 minutes at 425 degrees. I’ve actually been meaning to make this soup for weeks—good things squashes last—but I often work late so I never feel like starting the process by roasting veggies at 8 or 9 pm. If this sounds familiar, you can roast your veggies at a different time then put the soup together another day. Or just plan accordingly. Also, here’s a video on making veggie stock and a post on why it’s so much better for you and the environment; you can use store-bought if you prefer (but watch the sodium).
So easy. So delicious. So nutritious from all of those bright orange veggies I was calling it “Crazy Carotenoid Soup.” (In my head, that is. Didn’t want you to think I was weird, or something.) Carotenoids are phytonutrients important for chronic disease prevention alongside other great health benefits; more on nutrition later.
By the way, if you noticed my head being chopped off a bit later in the video this is an artistic effect known as “negative space.” It’s also more commonly known as “I can’t friggin’ get iMovie to stop cropping off the top edge of my video” (and I’m gonna hurt someone). Reminds me of another challenge when we first started filming this video and my husband, who very kindly acts as videographer, says to me. “That sweater really doesn’t look like a cooking outfit.” Um, what? Yeah. Okay. I’m just a regular person, sharing the love of cooking and eating sustainable, healthy, delicious food here on my humble blog. No professional videography. No expert editing. No cooking costumes.
This is my way of saying forgive my not-as-polished-as-I-would-like videos. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get to the gym for a long run to reduce my stress level (a major motivation for physical activity in my world) after fighting with iMovie for several hours. And stay tuned for more of this sensational squash series…
(Cooking outfit? Seriously? I don’t even know what that means. I feel badly enough my videos aren’t as glossy as I’d like and now my own husband is heckling me from behind the camera.)
