Spicy Butternut Squash Coconut Soup

Spicy Butternut Squash Coconut Soup

Just when I thought I had exhausted all of the possible butternut squash soup recipes, I found another one that I tweaked to fit my needs and tastes, and wowza!  It all started so innocently.  A local store was selling peeled, seeded,  and cubed butternut squash.  The thought of not needing to prep the squash was insanely appealing to me.  Preparing my food requires most of my energy some days, and any step that can make it easier is worth it for me. 


The original recipe is from Soup Bible (Penguin Books, 2007) and included coconut cream as an ingredient.  My friend's mother has used coconut cream and coconut oil consistently for decades and when she learned a couple of years ago that coconut oil was recommended to me as a highly digestible fat, she shared a jar of her coconut cream concentrate with me.  (I know, I know...I still haven't made a post about the merits of coconut oil for people with pancreatic insufficiency.  I promise to get to that soon.) I have enjoyed coconut cream just as a spread on toast, but had never tried it in a recipe, so was glad to find this squash soup recipe.  Absolutely delicious!!! Since the product that I had was coconut cream concentrate, I adjusted the recipe accordingly.  Also, the original recipe used sweet chili sauce and I used Thai style chili sauce since that was what I had in the refrigerator.  I'm not sure how sweet chili sauce is different than the Thai style chili sauce that I used, but the pairing with the squash was extraordinary.  What was even more extraordinary was the realization that this soup has a whopping 21 grams of fat per serving, but because it is coconut fat, I digested it without a problem.  What a treat to enjoy something so creamy and decadent.  Of course, if you don't need to use coconut oil as I do, you could certainly substitute something like regular cream or similar for it.  Pzazz means having fun with the challenges each of us encounter!


Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 pound peeled, seeded, and cubed butternut squash        
3 cups low-sodium chicken stock
3 teaspoons coconut cream concentrate
(or 1/4 cup coconut cream)
1 Tablespoon Thai style chili sauce (or sweet chili sauce)
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon finely shredded unsweetened coconut

Preparation:
Heat oil in a large saucepan over a low heat and add onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric and squash.  Cook for 4 -5 minutes, then add broth and bring to a boil.  Simmer, covered for 20 - 30 minutes until the squash is tender.  Remove from heat and cool a little.

Puree the soup until smooth with an immersion blender or in a regular blender.   Return to the stove and gently reheat.  Stir in the coconut cream concentrate, chili sauce and lemon zest.  Season to taste with the salt and pepper.  Ladle into bowls and garnish with shredded coconut.

Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 4
Serving Size: About 3/4 cup          
Calories: 161
Total Fat: 21 g
Cholesterol:  0 mg
Sodium: 91 mg
Total Carbs: 20 g
Dietary Fiber: 5 g
Protein:4 g

Beet Soup with Ginger

Beet Soup with Ginger for Valentines Day

Inspired by all things red on Valentines Day, I made Anna Thomas' recipe for Beet Soup with Ginger.  It was a vibrant rosy soup as delicious as it looked!  And it was incredibly easy to make since all of the ingredients just needed to be chopped and put into a large soup pot.  I warmed it up and had it for lunch again today.  The beautiful yellow roses were a gift from my sweetheart husband, Tom.


Ingredients:
12 oz.  (350 g) beets
4 oz. (120 g) parsnips
8 oz. (225 g) Nappa cabbage
1 fennel bulb (100 g)
1 1/2 cups sliced leeks  (150 g)
3 Tablespoons (35 g) minced fresh ginger
2 cups vegetable broth'
1 tsp sea salt
1 - 2 Tablespoons  (15 - 30 ml) fresh lemon juice

Preparation:
Peel and chop the beets and parsnips, and clean and chop the cabbage and fennel.

Beets

Sliced Nappa Cabbage

Parsnips

Sliced parsnips

Sliced leeks

Fennel bulb

Sliced fennel bulb

Combine all the vegetables in a soup pot with the ginger, 2 cups water, the vegetable broth, and the salt.  Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer the soup, covered, for at least half an hour, possibly 45 minutes until all the vegetables are completely tender.

Simmering ingredients

Allow the soup to cool slightly and puree it in the blender or with an immersion blender.   Thin it with a little more vegetable broth, if needed.  Add lemon juice to taste.  Garnish with a bit of Greek-style yogurt that is slightly sweetened and a sprig of the fennel leaf.    (Garnish is not included in nutritional analysis.)


Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 8

Serving Size: Approx. 1 cup                            
Calories: 61
Total Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 585 mg
(less if low-sodium broth is used)
Total Carbs: 4 g
Dietary Fiber: 3 g
Protein: 2 g

White Bean-Cilantro Dip

Last Friday, I was weary of eating hummus and needed a new fiber rich, but smoothly pureed alternative. Hmmmm, what flavors and ingredients could I marry today?   Inspired once again by what I had available, I quickly pronounced nuptials for white beans and cilantro, and they lived happily ever after.  Valentines Day is definitely on my mind.  Hopefully, the garlic in this dip won't squelch that too much.  


I brought a batch of this dip with me when I stayed with my friend Tahirih this weekend. (She kindly offered to take care of me while my husband was away.)  Tahirih thought the dip was so delicious  that we made another batch of it this morning.  Rather than using canned beans, she soaked  beans yesterday for several hours, then cooked them.  There are many benefits of soaking and cooking beans rather than using canned ones.  First, of course, is the improved taste.  Secondly, the linings of most cans contain Bisphenol A (BPA) that is known to be harmful to one's health and recent studies have confirmed that the BPA in can linings often leaks into the food, thus use of canned foods should be minimized.  Third, the sodium content of most canned beans is quite high. Fourth, soaking and cooking your own beans is vastly cheaper than buying them in a can.  So you might be wondering why I had canned beans in my pantry.  Well, the convenience of canned beans for days when my energy is low is the primary reason.


The dip was a hit with Tahirih's husband, Ron, and daughter, Malika as they ate it with fresh vegetables. I ate mine with tasty whole wheat crackers.   It was fun to arrange Tahirih's beautiful platter with the dip, vegetables and crackers and to know that "my food" is often delicious to other palates, too.   


Ingredients:
1 16-oz can white beans, rinsed and drained (or 2 cups cooked white beans)
6 Tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
1 Tablespoon olive oil (use a light rather than heavy tasting variety)
2-4 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 clove minced garlic (or 1/4  teaspoon garlic powder)
(If you cook your own beans, add sea salt to desired taste)


Preparation:
Combine all ingredients and process with a food processor or with an immersion blender.  Kiss your sweetie.  


Nutrition: (calculated using canned white beans)
Servings per recipe: 12
Serving Size: 2 Tablespoons
Calories: 47
Total Fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 147 mg
Total Carbs: 7 g
Dietary Fiber: 2 g
Protein: 2 g

Purchased Soups

There are times when I don't have any good pureed soups in the freezer and I'm not feeling well enough to make anything. For those times, it's good to have some purchased soups in the pantry.  I don't eat many foods from a can, but there are times when it becomes necessary.So here's a list of my favorite soups to buy.  For those that need to be pureed a bit more, I pour the soup into a deep glass measuring cup and then use my immersion hand-held blender. Then it is quick to warm up in the microwave and cleaning up is quick, too.  The benefit of all of these soups is that the nutritional information is listed on the package, making it easy to fit them into my diabetes eating plan.  


Amy's Kitchen: (all organic)
Low-Fat Tomato Soup
Split Pea Soup (may need to be pureed more)
Light in Sodium Butternut Squash Soup 
Thai Coconut Soup (may need to be pureed more)
Curried Lentil Soup (may need to be pureed more) 


Pacific Natural Foods: (all organic)
Thai Sweet Potato Soup (may need to be pureed more)
Curried Red Lentil Soup (may need to be pureed more)
Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato (may need to be pureed more) 
Cashew Carrot Ginger Soup (may need to be pureed more) 
Butternut Squash Soup 


Imagine Natural Creations:  (all organic) 
Garden Broccoli Soup (may need to be pureed more) 
Acorn Squash and Mango Soup
Organic Creamy Butternut Squash Soup 

Broccoli-Tofu Soup

Broccoli-Tofu Soup

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have been struggling with my health this past week and have needed to be even more cautious than usual choosing what to eat.  So today as I was feeling a bit better, I made a new combination that turned out great.  It's simply pureed broccoli with silken tofu added to it, spiced with soy sauce and a pinch of Five-Spice Powder.  Silken tofu is a great addition to soups to make it creamy without adding fat or many carbohydrates while also packing a punch of protein. For soups, I generally buy Mori-Nu Silken Tofu in the Extra Firm variety.  Tofu readily absorbs whatever flavor you put with it, making it ideal for adding to soups.   Most of all, I knew as I ate this for lunch that it wouldn't create any digestive tract blockages and the fiber in the pureed broccoli would keep my sluggish bowels on the move.   


Ingredients:
3 cups chopped broccoli florets
1 cup reduced-sodium vegetable broth
1 12.3-oz package Silken Tofu, extra firm
1/2 teaspoon reduced sodium soy sauce
pinch of Five-Spice Powder


Preparation:
Place the broccoli florets in a 6 cup glass measuring container with the vegetable broth.  Microwave on high power till the broccoli is tender, about 8 minutes.  Puree the broccoli and broth with a hand-held immersion blender in the glass container. Add the tofu and seasonings and puree it a bit more.


Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 3
Serving Size: About 1 1/2 cups
Calories: 95
Total Fat: 3 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 201 mg
Total Carbs: 8 g
Dietary Fiber: 3 g
Protein: 11 g

Squash Soup with Fennel

Squash Soup with Fennel

I haven't been feeling well for the past week (I'll spare you the details) but had started this post last week and will finally get it published today.  It was great to have this soup available when I didn't have the energy to make anything.


My friend, Julie, shared her copy of Food and Wine magazine recently.   In it I found a recipe for Red Kuri Squash Soup by the renown chef, Alice Waters. The recipe used red kuri squash, which is a type of winter squash that I'm not familiar with, and also used a fennel bulb, which I have never used before either. But I did have some more sweet dumpling squash that a friend had given us just about 2 weeks ago, so I decided to use it as a substitute for the squash in this recipe.  Since sweet dumpling is a highly ridged squash that can't be peeled easily like a red kuri or butternut squash, I simply baked it whole in the oven, then scooped it out for use in this soup.  The original recipe also used butter  and a garnish of toasted pecans, both of which I omitted from my version.  I also added about half of the roasted fennel wedges to the soup before I pureed it, then used some as a garnish.  Of course, I had to take the garnish off before I actually ate it, but it looked so appealing with the decoration.  


I liked the simplicity of this recipe, too.   Simmering the onions with the squash and bay leaf in water is the kind of ease I need many days.


Fennel.  Hmmmm.  I generally associate fennel with French cooking, but wasn't even sure about that. Then I looked in Tom's trust-worthy Joy of Cooking cookbook, where fennel is described as an anise-flavored root with stalks and leaves and is frequently found in Italian markets.  Shows you what I know - or more accurately - what I don't know.  Further reading about fennel at WHFoods told me that, yes,  fennel is a frequent contribution to Mediterranean cooking.  It is described as  crunchy and slightly sweet.  Fennel is composed of a white or pale green bulb from which the stalks emanate.  The stalks are topped with feathery green leaves near which flowers grow and produce fennel seeds.  The bulb, stalk, leaves and seeds are all edible.  Fennel belongs to the same family as parsley, carrots, dill and coriander.


WHFoods also described  fennel as including its own unique combination of phytonutrients that give it strong antioxident activity.  The most fascinating phytonutrient compound in fennel, however, may be anethole.  In animal studies, the anethole in fennel has been shown to reduce inflammation and to help prevent the occurrence of cancer.  So the anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer benefits of fennel made it an enticing new herb to try.   When I purchased it, I was also immediately fascinated by the beauty of the lacy leaves, and thought they would make an appealing garnish for the soup or other foods I might be making.   

Fennel

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs.red kuri or butternut or other winter squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes (3 cups)
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 medium fennel bulb, cored and cut into thin wedges
1 Tablespoon coconut oil, melted (or 1 Tablespoon olive oil)
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Sweet Dumpling Squash

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a large saucepan, combine the cubed squash with the chopped onion, bay leaf and 3 cups of water and bring to a boil over high heat.  Cover and simmer over low heat until the squash is tender, about 20 minutes.

Simmering Squash

Meanwhile, on a large rimmed baking sheet, toss the fennel wedges with the coconut oil. Season with salt and pepper and toss well.  Roast for about 25 minutes, until the fennel is tender and starting to brown.

Roasted fennel wedges

Discard the bay leaf from the soup.  Add about half of the roasted fennel wedges, saving the remainder for garnish.  Puree the soup with an immersion blender, adding liquid to desired consistency.  I added about 2 more cups of water.  Season the soup with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.  Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with fennel wedges and the lacy leaves.

Fennel wedges added to cooked squash

Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 8
Serving Size: 1 cup
Calories: 53
Total Fat: 2 g

Squash Soup with Fennel wedges and leaves

Cholesterol:0   mg                            
Sodium:  14 mg
Total Carbs: 10  g
Dietary Fiber: 3
Protein: 1

Spinach-Chard Filled Egg White Omelet

Earlier this week, my good friend, Julie, and I basked in the glorious sunshine and winter beauty of Lake Superior.  The ice capped rocks, the icicles frozen on logs, the silhouette of bare trees against the azure sky inspired and awed us.   After a quick walk along Brighton Beach we drove further up the shore to New Scenic Cafe for lunch.  The few times that I have been there,  New Scenic Cafe has been eager and cheerful to accommodate my dietary needs by pureeing vegetables and reducing fat, without compromising taste and presentation.   And they have done this at no extra charge.  I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for exquisite food with an amazing view of Lake Superior.  The food has always been delightful and this meal was no exception. Julie and I  lingered over our lunch,  thankful for a window view with bright sunshine and thankful for friendship that has endured many years.  


I ordered a sandwich from the menu that contained slabs of sauteed tofu with spinach leaves.  The waiter said that the chef would be able to easily puree the spinach into a spread for the sandwich.  When the sandwich arrived, I peered inside and was intrigued by the "just right consistency" which wasn't too thin nor too chunky. How did the chef do it? What tool did he use?  When I puree vegetables using my immersion blender or regular blender, a small amount of liquid is required, so the consistency of my creations is generally too thin to spread. My friend asked the waiter the questions about what tool the chef used. (I was too busy snarfing down the delicious sandwich.)  The waiter said the chef used a VitaMix to accomplish it.  Wow.  I am only vaguely familiar with a VitaMix, but know it is quite large and quite expensive.  I couldn't imagine how such a large device could be used for such a small quantity.  But I was on a new mission.  

Spinach and chard stems sauteing

One of my nutritional goals is to include vegetables in every meal.  Doing so for breakfast seems the most challenging.  Before I developed the need to puree my vegetables to prevent obstructions, I frequently made egg white omelets filled with sauteed vegetables of many types. But I hadn't figured out how to puree or pulverize vegetables to a consistency that wasn't too thin for omelets.  The meal at New Scenic Cafe inspired me to try new techniques.  So I dug out the Chopper/Grinder attachment to my Cuisinart Smart Stick and used it to process some sauteed spinach with some chard stems.  

Spinach-Chard Filling on Omelet

After using the Chopper/Grinder attachment, I inspected the mixture.  Hmmmm...would it pass the guideline given to me by my gastroenterologist - i.e. vegetables need to easily squeeze through a tube of toothpaste and without any stringiness.  Not quite.  So then I put the mixture in my vintage General Electric Food Processor, on which only one of the buttons now actually work.  Well, even missing the full range of buttons for processing, it did the trick.   The spinach/chard mixture was just right for placing in an omelet for my breakfast this morning.  It might look ugly as a stand-alone food, but tucked inside an omelet, it was tasty, nutritious, filling, and digestible.

Ingredients:
1 cup loosely packed fresh spinach leaves
1/2 cup chopped chard stems
1 teaspoon olive oil
3 egg whites

Preparation:
Heat olive oil in nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add finely chopped chard stems and saute until tender, about 10 minutes.  Add chopped spinach and saute until tender.  Remove from pan, cool slightly and then  place in a food processor and process to desired consistency.   Set aside.  Meanwhile, spray the skillet with nonstick cooking spray.  Beat egg whites until fluffy, and add seasoning as desired.  Pour egg whites into the cooking pan and cook gently over low heat, adding a cover to ensure the eggs are done on top.  When nearly finished cooking, spoon the spinach/chard mixture onto half of the omelet and fold the other half over it.  

For variation another time, I think I will add reduced-fat feta cheese and a sprinkle of Greek seasoning and a sprinkle of True Lemon crystals.


Nutrition: (includes egg whites for omelet) 
Servings per recipe: 1
Serving Size: 1 omelet
Calories: 116
Total Fat: 5  g
Cholesterol:  0 mg
Sodium: 204 mg
Total Carbs: 5 g
Dietary Fiber: 2 g
Protein: 17 g