Fog and a Recipe

A thick fog has descended over the Valley this week.  At night it swirls around the trees, houses and cars on the street, imparting an eerie stillness to the neighborhood.  For the past few mornings, the fog hasn't lifted in South Sutter County, imparting a mental fuzziness which requires that I consume ever more coffee. 

The weather makes it a good time of year to bake and make some soup.  I've included a recipe below of a really tasty winter squash soup I cooked last night. 

First Apple Pie I've ever baked

Fall colors on 2nd Ave, Oak Park, Sacramento

Fall Gardening Projects

The gardening never stops in the Central Valley

My roommate brought masa from LA--it made delicious tortillas

Here's the recipe for the soup I made.  I adapted it from one I learned from Sandra Morales, who was the parent liason at Park Elementary School where I taught for almost four years.  We cooked the soup on a family day around 3 years ago, and enjoyed it with homemade tortillas.  Sandra is an excellent cook and a truly wonderful person.  So here's the recipe

Ingredients needed:

one medium green kabocha squash (or similar winter squash)
one medium yellow onion
four medium carrots
four small sweet red peppers (i used some from my pepper garden in Woodland)
one or more poblano-type peppers (add more for more heat)
1 tbs olive oil (or other cooking oil)
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp chile pasilla powder
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 pinch cinammon
three cloves garlic
four medium red potatoes
one quart chicken or vegetable stock
3 cups water
fixin's: tortillas, queso fresco, avocado

Winter Squash at Let Us Farm, Oakville, WA Nov 2010

Directions

1. Select, wash and bake in the oven at 375 degrees until soft, one medium green kabocha squash, or other similar Winter Squash. Make sure to poke a few holes in the squash with a knife or fork. 
2. Finely chop onion, carrot, sweet pepper and poblano pepper
3. Heat 1tbs olive oil at medium-low temperature in a dutch-oven type soup pot, add onion, carrots and peppers, stir occasionally to prevent burning
4. Finely chop garlic
5. After 5 minutes, add garlic, cumin and pasilla chile powder to soup pot
6. Saute for 1 minute, then add stock, turn heat to high
7. Chop potatoes into 1/4 inch cubes, add to soup pot
8. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer, add ground pepper and pinch of cinnamon
9. Remove skin and seeds from baked green kabocha and add squash 'meat' to soup
10. Add two cups water, simmer until squash is soft
11. Remove chunks of squash, carrot, potato, onion and pepper from soup and puree in blender or cuisine-art.  Return to soup pot and repeat until desired smoothness is reached.  
12. Add water until desired thickness is reached, 
13. Add salt to taste then simmer for 10 minutes
14. Serve hot, add crema mexicana to individual bowl if richer soup if desired

Author's serving suggestions: get some fresh corn masa for tortillas, and make fresh tortillas.  Cut up some avocado and queso fresco, wrap in warm homemade tortilla, take a bite and dip it in the soup.  You won't be disappointed!

Squash soup, with some tasty fixins: avocado, queso fresco, homeade tortilla