Week 46 -- Apple Sweet Potato Stew

Hopefully this will be the last soup from my parents' kitchen.  I am moving into my new house and new kitchen as I write this.  In fact, after I post, I have to go dig and find my teapot. 

With my allergies, apples are like gold.  And my usual apple supplier was not in business this year (not to mention they are now two hours away from where I'm living).  Luckily, the tree outside mom's office had an amazing harvest for the first time ever.  We have eaten hundreds of apples off the tree this year, literally.  It's not an easy tree to pick from, so we adopted the habit of going out every day to see what dropped.

This stew makes use of some of those glorious miracle apples.

Mom picking some of these magical beauties.

Hot stew after cold apple picking.

Apple Sweet Potato Stew

1 cup red lentils
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
7 cups water
3 sweet potatoes, diced
3 carrots, sliced
1 Tbsp arrowroot
1 tsp each ginger, allspice, cinnamon, cardamom, turmeric
dash ground black pepper
3 apples, diced
1 Tbsp miso
1/2 cup coconut, (reduced fat, unsweetened)
1/4 cup cashews
2 dates

1. Saute onions and garlic in water.  Add sweet potatoes, carrots, red lentils, and half of the water.  Let simmer until all are tender.  Add spices and apples.

2.  In a blender, combine miso, coconut, cashews, and dates with some of the water.  Blend until smooth.  Add to soup.

3. Dissolve arrowroot into a little water that's left.  Add to soup.  Continue simmering until arrowroot is cooked and stew has thickened.

Makes about 6 servings.

Week 42 -- Creamy Butternut Soup

I'm still at my parents' house for just a few more weeks (my new kitchen is getting so close I can almost taste it!).  This week Mom and I decided together to make a butternut squash soup, but she started on it before I got to the kitchen, so it's a little rich and quite miso-heavy.  But it is a really nice, soothing soup for a fall evening.

We like to steam our squash in the microwave.  This is really easy.  Use a knife to carefully poke a few holes in the squash, then microwave it until it's soft.  Make sure you let it cool quite a while before cutting into it.  If I know I'm having squash with dinner, I get it steaming as soon as I get home and then let it cool for at least half an hour before I cut in.  Still, be careful of steam.

If you don't do microwaves, steam or cook the squash however you like.  Keep in mind that raw butternut squash, especially if it's freshly picked, has a substance in its skin that will make your hands dry out and peel.  Be careful and don't say I didn't warn you.  You can get around this by cooking it some before you try to peel it or by wearing kitchen gloves.

Creamy Butternut Soup

1/4 cup cashews
1 Tbsp coconut
1/2 large butternut squash cooked
1 tsp sage
1 tsp thyme
1 Tbsp miso
2 1/2 cups water

1. Steam the squash.  Let cool until safe to handle.

2. Blend the cashews and coconut with about 1/2 cup of water.

3. Scoop the squash out of its skin.  Add it to the blender with the seasonings and more water.

4. Blend until smooth.  

5. If the squash has cooled, you may want to gently reheat the soup.

Makes 2 large servings.

Week 35 -- Red Lentil Curry Stew

This is the last soup I cooked in my apartment.  My next soup will have to be made in my temporary home at my parents' house while I wait to finish paperwork and such for the house I'm buying. 

Because this was at the height of packing, I had limited cooking equipment and I was trying to use things up from my pantry.  However, I had a picnic to attend and I needed a dish to pass.  I made this stew nice and thick so it works well for picnics and potlucks and can be eaten off plates, not bowls.

This is not the world's healthiest stew.  Coconut milk, even light coconut milk, is really high in saturated fat.  This is definitely a special occasion stew, and it is good for picnics or parties where everyone will just be eating a portion, not one person eating the whole batch.  With that said, it's very crowd friendly.  It's flavorful without being too spicy.  If you love spice, feel free to add more curry powder.

Speaking of curry powder, I use a homemade blend from my mom that doesn't have cloves in it.  You can use whatever curry powder you like, but if you have corn or gluten sensitivities make sure to read the ingredients and watch for fillers.  The big benefit of curry powder is that it includes both turmeric and black pepper.  Turmeric is great for you, but your body can absorb even more of the great curcumin if you eat it with black pepper.

There's my stew, ready to be packed in my thermal bag for the picnic.

Red Lentil Curry Stew

1 lb dry red lentils
4 cups water
1 red onion, diced
2 cups diced apples
1 can lite coconut milk
1 Tbsp curry powder (more if desired)

1. Cook red lentils in the water.  Watch carefully to see if it needs more water.  You want the cooked lentils to be not too watery, but you don't want your lentils to burn either.  They cook fast in about 15 minutes.
2. Add the onion, apple, coconut milk, and curry powder.  Let simmer about 30-45 minutes.  Apples and onions should be very tender.
Makes about 6 large servings.

Week 16 -- Lentil Curry Soup

I love the idea of curry, but I shied away from it for years for two reasons:  first, I can't handle spicy foods (again, I love the idea of them, but they trigger my MCAS), and second, I'm allergic to cloves, which are usually in curry powder.

My mom, however, makes a really good curry soup, with her own curry powder, so I can eat all I want of her food!  You can use commercial or homemade curry powder in this recipe.  The easiest way to make your own is to read the ingredients on a curry powder blend you like.  You can also search online as there are many recipes that can fit your own taste -- spicy or less spicy.

I was home visiting for a few days and she showed me the secrets of her yummy soup, so we made it together for the blog.  Her recipe usually includes liquid aminos and sugar, two things I'm trying to limit.  Our experiment went well -- this soup is delicious! 

I can chop vegetables and take photos at the same time! 
No, actually, Mom is chopping here.

The veggies are starting to multiply.  Soon they might overflow the pan!

More veggies steaming on the stove.

Mom is trying to wrangle all those yummy veggies in the pan.

The finished soup with a big mound of millet.

Ready to eat! 

Lentil Curry Soup

1 onion, chopped

4 medium carrots, chopped in large chunks

3 cloves garlic, chopped

4 medium large gold potatoes, chopped in large chunks

1 cup red lentils

1 bag frozen peas

1/2 bag frozen spinach

2 Tbsp curry powder

Water to cover

4 cups cauliflower

4 dates

1 cup reduced fat unsweetened coconut

2 1/2 cups water

2 Tbsp molasses

1 Tbsp miso

1. Steam the onion, carrots, and garlic in a little water in a large skillet.  Keep covered.  

2. When partially softened, add potatoes and lentils.  Add the peas and spinach.  No need to thaw first, as they will thaw in the soup.  Add curry powder.  Add water to cover.  Cook until lentils are tender (about 10-15 minutes).  About halfway through, add chopped cauliflower.

3. In a blender, blend dates, coconut, water, molasses, and miso.  Add to soup and let all warm up.  (Try to avoid boiling after miso is added.)
4. Serve with cooked millet or other grain, if desired.

Makes 8 servings.