Butternut Squash Soup in Pumpkin Bowls

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Butternut Squash Soup In Pumpkin Bowls

by Nanny Bubby

To make the Butternut Squash Soup:
I don’t ever remember having butternut squash soup growing up. I never even heard of it until 1999 when I was in South Africa deep within the Kruger National Park at a game Lodge called Sabi Sabi. Every sunrise and sunset we would go out on a photographic game drive and be amazed at the nature we were observing. One evening after one of our sunset drives we returned starving and a bit tipsy as they serve alcohol right before and after you take off for the adventure. Sabi Sabi had a staff of gourmet chefs that fed us fabulous meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This night they served a starter of butternut squash soup. It was amazing. I never had such flavor hit my taste buds. I so, so loved it. I asked for the recipe, but the chefs (who spoke a South African native language) and I could not quite communicate. I spent years working to perfect it. My family loves it. I think I got close.
To make the Pumpkin Bowls:
I have always loved the pictures of butternut squash soup being served in pumpkin bowls. The problem is that every recipe I found caused the pumpkins to be overcooked and become too soft, and the soup would seep out of it. What I learned after many times of trial and error, is that you just want to cook the pumpkins long enough at a medium heat to get the raw smell out of them. And, you don’t want to scrape the bottom too much or you could puncture or cause a hole. It is ok to leave a little extra pumpkin meat in the bottom for extra protection. What you will have is a beautiful, splendid presentation during any fall holiday.
Enjoy!

Total Time:

1 hour

Serves:

6

Ingredients

For the soup:

  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp. butter
  • 1 medium onion chopped
  • 3, 12 oz. packages cubed butternut squash
  • 2 quarts. organic vegetable stock
  • 1 large clove garlic or 2 small, minced
  • 2 tsp. fresh thyme
  • ½ tsp. fresh sage
  • ½ c. heavy whipping cream
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Topping

  • ½ c. heavy whipping cream
  • ½ c. Crème Fraiche

Tiger Pumpkins

  • Miniature Tiger Pumpkins one for each one of your guests
  • Organic coconut oil spray

Directions

To Roast the Pumpkins

  • Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees.
  • Cut off the tops of the pumpkins.
  • With a grapefruit or serrated spoon, scrape out the meat and seeds, being careful not to scrape the bottom too thinly.
  • Once hollowed out, spray the inside of the pumpkin with the organic coconut oil spray.
  • Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  • Wipe the outside of the pumpkins with a paper towel to remove the extra oil so they do not char in the oven.
  • Place upside down on a cookie sheet lined with a cooking rack and bake with the tops off but also in the oven for 15 minutes. Watching closely to be sure they do not crack or split. You will know they are done when they no longer smell raw and have a sweet pumpkin aroma to them. .

To Make the Butternut Squash Soup:

  • Heat the olive oil over high heat in a large non-metallic stock pot.
  • Add the chopped onion pieces until they begin to soften and turn translucent before they begin to brown, about five minutes.
  • Add the butter and then add the squash and cook stirring occasionally until the edges begin to brown and the squash begins to soften on the outside layer, about 10 to 12 minutes.
  • Add the garlic and cook for another minute until it softens being careful it does not brown or begin to burn.
  • Add the vegetable stock, thyme, sage and bring to a simmer. Simmer until the squash is very soft about 20 mins.
  • Take the soup off the heat, and then pour in the heavy cream. Puree the soup using an immersion blender.
  • Season with salt and pepper. Pour into your roasted Tiger Pumpkin Bowls.

For the topping

  • Mix together the cream and Crème Fraiche in a small bowl and drizzle over the top of the soup making designs as you go. Garnish with a piece of sage.

Video

Notes

Tip: I use little Tiger Pumpkins for this recipe – but any miniature pumpkins are off the grocery shelves the day after Halloween will do. I buy them for Thanksgiving in late October and place them in the refrigerator till Thanksgiving. They will keep perfectly. If you wait till November 5, you will not find a single one! So figure out your Thanksgiving invite list early and buy enough in October.
Tip: Fried sage is an awesome treat on this. Just spray a little olive oil in a pan and sauté till crispy! Voila!

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Sautéed Rainbow Chard

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Sautéed Rainbow Chard

by Nanny Bubby

One of the very first vegetables I seeded and planted was Rainbow Chard. I had never cooked or eaten this vegetable before, but it sure is pretty and I was very successful in growing it. Hence, I surely needed to figure out how to cook it. When I first harvested it, I had only about 4-5 leaves and when I cooked them, they began to wilt and soften. They cooked down to about a half dollar size amount of vegetables. That same wilt and that “far less than you started with experience” happens with spinach too, and I hate that. So, I set out to solve it. Through my experiments I found that chard and/or spinach does not wilt away so quickly if you cook it with another heartier vegetable. It is much easier to control that way. The cauliflower gives it substance and something to cling to. I add extra pepper during seasoning. It just gives this a remarkable flavor. Enjoy!

Total Time:

40 minutes

Serves:

5

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs. Rainbow Chard & Stems
  • 2 Sweet onions
  • 2 Cloves of garlic
  • 1-16 Oz. Package of riced cauliflower
  • 2 Tbs. Butter
  • 2 Tbs. Olive oil
  • Salt and extra pepper to taste

Directions

  • On a medium heat, add the butter and olive oil to a large sauté pan. Starting with the onions, slice in thin rounds and then cut the rounds in half.
  • Sauté until golden brown and caramelized about 5-7 minutes.
  • Mince the garlic and add to the onions. Sauté for about 1 minute before it turns brown.
  • Add the cauliflower and stir the cauliflower until it softens and looks a bit transparent.
  • Chop off the stem of the chard right at the base of the leaf.
  • Taking about 5 leaves at a time stack them on top of each other and then roll them like a cigar.
  • Chiffonade the chard by slicing in ¼ inch slices across the rolled chard.
  • Slice the stems of the chard in thin slices the way you would celery.
  • Add the chard stems to the pan and cook until soft.
  • Add the chiffonade chard and cook until hot and slightly wilted. Serve immediately.

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Fermented Vegetables

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Dry Fermenting Cabbage And Wet Fermenting Vegetables

by Nanny Bubby

I first discovered fermenting from my gardening mentor @organizerBrenda. I am a fan of Dr. Zach Bush, as well, and heard him talking incessantly about how healthy fermented fruits and vegetables are. Then I began doing research on our ancestry food chain wondering what our human ancestors ate during the dead of winter. What I discovered is that they fermented fruits and veggies during the harvest of the fall and ate them all winter. What is surprising is how unbelievably easy it is. BTW, fermented vegetables are the easiest way to heal your gut. No probiotics needed if you are eating fermented. 1-2 servings a day and you are enriching your gut lining and getting good and healthy. During the Covid lockdown, we were really cautious about eating lots of sauerkraut, (no one was hoarding sauerkraut, so it was plentiful to purchase) to keep our immune system and guts strong and healthy.

Total Time:

45 minutes

Serves:

3

Ingredients

Dry Fermenting

  • 1 cabbage sliced quartered and then sliced thin
  • 2 Tbsp. Himalayan Pink Salt or Kosher Salt
  • 1 outer leaf of cabbage cut round the size of the top of a lid

Wet Fermenting Vegetables

  • 2 c. filtered water
  • 2 Tbsp. Himalayan Pink Sea Salt or Kosher Salt

Directions

Dry Fermenting

  • Chop or shred cabbage. Place in a large ceramic or glass bowl and sprinkle with salt. Combine well with your hands until all the cabbage has been coated with the salt.
  • Let the mixture sit for about 1/2 hour. This allows the salt to pull the juices out of the cabbage.
  • After 1/2 hour or so (you can let it sit for hours), massage the cabbage with clean hands. Massage until the juice begins to drip down to the bottom of the bowl (about 5 minutes).
  • Pack the wilted cabbage down into your canning jars. Tightly pack it in as well as you can. Make sure There is space between the top of the cabbage and the rim of the jar.
  • Cut one of the outer leaves of the cabbage in a circle about the size of the lid. Using one of the clean, outer leaves of the cabbage, lay it on top and press the cabbage below the surface of the water. You might need to weight it with a clean rock or buy a fermenting weight.
  • Screw your lid on tightly keep in a cool dark place for 2-5 weeks.
  • Tip: It is normal to see bubbles, white scum, or foam on top during the fermentation. You shouldn’t see any actual mold, though. If you do, scrape it off the top, and make sure all the rest of the cabbage is fully submerged. All cabbage below the brine level should still be fine.

Wet Fermenting Vegetables

  • Use any Vegetables of your choice. Some ideas are: carrots, garlic, cauliflower, lemons, radishes, just be creative.
  • Fill your jar tightly with all of our veggies and herbs. Pour the salted water over the top of the veggies and fill the jar to the top. Place your lid on tightly and store in a cool dark place for 10 – 14 days. It is normal for the water to get cloudy and for it to bubble. If it gets moldy, air has gotten inside. Once opened, place in the refrigerator.

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Sautéed Collard Greens

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Vegetarian Collard Greens

by Nanny Bubby

Collard greens can be very tough and bitter. I discovered the process of cooking them for 30 minutes, letting them cool covered for 20 minutes and then simmering them again for 30 minutes before serving. This way you can make them ahead. I made this discovery when pre-cooking them for a live TV show and when they were re-heated and cooked they were more delicious than any other time I had prepared them. Sometimes accidental discoveries are the best discoveries. Enjoy!

Total Time:

2 hours

Serves:

6

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp. Olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp. Butter
  • 2 large shallots chopped
  • 3 scallions chopped, white and green parts
  • 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1.5 Lbs. collard greens chopped or chiffonade
  • 1 ½ c. vegetable stock
  • 9 cherry tomatoes halved
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions

  • In a large skillet with a top, add the oil and butter and heat over medium heat.
  • Sauté the shallots and scallions until slightly softened, about 2 minutes, then add the red pepper flakes and garlic, cook another minute. Add the collard greens.
  • Add the vegetable stock, cover and bring to a simmer until the greens are tender, about 30 minutes. Cool and bring to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
  • Cover and then simmer the second time for another 30 minutes.
  • Add the tomatoes and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Video

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Oven Fried Veggies

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Oven Fried Veggies

by Nanny Bubby

We love vegetables from the garden. But during the end of some seasons the vegetable choices are slim pickings. How do you use the same vegetable night after night and yet make it seem totally different? Here is how I mix it up! (No pun intended.)

Total Time:

20 minutes

Serves:

5

Ingredients

  • 2 c. organic breadcrumbs
  • 4 Tbsp. freshly grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 tsp. smoked paprika
  • 4 tsp. Italian seasoning or Herbs de Provence
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • ½ tsp. pepper
  • 4 c. small cut veggies cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, eggplant
  • 1 bottle organic olive oil spray

Directions

  • Spray baking sheet.
  • Combine the breadcrumbs, cheese, paprika, salt and pepper in a baking dish for ease of breading.
  • Place the veggies of your choice into a mixing bowl and spray with the olive oil then roll each piece into the breadcrumb mixture and then place onto a baking sheet. (Or you can place the breadcrumb mixture into a bag and put the veggies into the mixture and shake till covered.)
  • Place on a baking sheet spaced apart so they roast not steam.
  • Bake 10 to 20 mins until they are tender and golden brown. Enjoy!

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