Curried Butternut Squash and Green Apple Soup

Butternut squash & green apples - match made in YUM!

I love soups on a cool, fall day - and love them even more when paired with a fresh pressed panini, but I digress. Admittedly, squash and similar root vegetables (sweet potatotes? blegh!) are not my favorite but, for whatever reason, I think squash soup is divine. Go figure.

This recipe was certainly one of convenience - apples in hand, my mouth already salivating at the thought of anything curry (Dear Wyoming, please expand your restaurant options). And it was also a snap to put together. See for yourself!

Don't you love having an apron that fits the mood?

While I didn't get my recipe from Ina Garten (shocking, I know!) it looks like her version is almost identical to the one in my cookbook at home:


Butternut Squash and Apple Soup


2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons good olive oil
4 cups chopped yellow onions (3 large)
2 tablespoons mild curry powder
5 pounds butternut squash (2 large)
1 1/2 pounds sweet apples, such as McIntosh (4 apples)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups water
2 cups good apple cider or juice


From Ina's recipe:

Warm the butter, olive oil, onions, and curry powder in a large stockpot uncovered over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the onions are tender. Stir occasionally, scraping the bottom of the pot.

Peel the squash, cut in half, and remove the seeds. Cut the squash into chunks. Peel, quarter, and core the apples. Cut into chunks.

Sidenote from Pie Bird - you can peel a squash with a regular vegetable peeler! Then cut down the middle, scoop out the seeds/associated stringy meat, and chop into 1-2 inch chunks. 

Add the squash, apples, salt, pepper, and 2 cups of water to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook over low heat for 30 to 40 minutes, until the squash and apples are very soft. Process the soup through a food mill fitted with a large blade, or puree it coarsely in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade.

Pour the soup back into the pot. Add the apple cider or juice and enough water to make the soup the consistency you like; it should be slightly sweet and quite thick. Check the salt and pepper and serve hot.

Open wide!

Almost there...

Delightful. 

Sidenote: This soup was even better the next day 

with leftover brown rice and diced chicken! 

Pie Birds in the News: Country Living

I often meet people at the Farmers Market and at craft shows that have never heard of pie birds - and, hence, do not understand my tagline "vents while baking." However, recently I've noticed a resurgence of pie birds in magazines and online - and I feel to trendy! 


The most recent pie bird spotlight I found is in this month's Country Living magazine - right on the cover! They did a nice spread on pie birds, both as functional kitchen tools and also collectibles. Check out some of the info on their website by CLICKING HERE.


And if you're feeling pie-inspired - or is that piespired? pienspired? - Country Living also has an amazing collection of pie recipes at your disposal. Yum!

Moose and Soup and Mondays

Just another day at the office

enjoying a lovely fall day by the river

before I ran into another "coworker" who was rather ornery

and charged me into the river.

Good thing I was wearing the Wyoming version of "business casual" - 

and came home to warm, curried butternut squash & green apple soup.

Recipe this week!

Back to [FARM] School

Before all of my recent crazy travels began, I happened upon an interesting article (which, of course, I now can't find!) on farm schools, specifically the Farm Camp at Flying Pig Farms. That's right, schools for the agriculturally- or just plain food-inclined!


Naturally, this is right up my alley (and I'm sure you all remember the post on folk schools not too long ago) and the thought of spending my days with chickens and dirty hands and knees and vegetables sure sounds better than ginning up some reports on the ol' computer :) 


From the Northeast to the Southwest, there are all sorts of educational opportunities for farming fans, and I've searched around the net to find some to share with you all!


The Farm School: http://www.farmschool.org/ 
"The Farm School is a family farm for the coming generations where people experience first hand what it means to be stewards of the earth. We provide multi-day residential school-year and summer programs for the over 1,500 young people and their teachers, a year-long program to train adults in practical sustainable agriculture, and an on-site one-room middle school."


Jewish Farm School: http://www.jewishfarmschool.org/
"The Jewish Farm School is an environmental education organization whose mission is to practice and promote sustainable agriculture and to support food systems rooted in justice and Jewish traditions. Aspirations of the Jewish Farm School are driven by the traditions of using food as a tool for social justice and spiritual mindfulness.  Through our programs, we address the injustices embedded in today’s mainstream food systems and work to create greater access to sustainably grown foods, produced from a consciousness of both ecological and social well being."


A GREAT list of Educational Farms in New England: http://www.newenglandgrown.com/pages/educationalfarms.html


Quillisascut Farm School of the Domestic Arts: http://quillisascut.com/farm-school/
"Quillisascut Farm offers food professionals and culinary students a unique opportunity to experience the farm-to-table connection first hand. During week-long programs, participants will milk goats, make cheese, help care for farm animals, transplant vegetables, and harvest produce from the gardens. Students also visit neighboring organic farms and hear presentations about honeybees, grass-finished meats and composting. Lively group discussions about genetically modified foods and globalization round out the experience."


And it goes without saying that I'll mention the Pie Ranch (the name alone is a selling point!): http://www.pieranch.org
"On our pie-slice shaped piece of land, we grow pie ingredients including wheat for crusts, fruits for filling, raise chickens for eggs, goats and cows for milk and butter, and vegetables for healthy meals. We sell our crops at our farm stand, to local bakeries including Mission Pie, and have a Community Supported Eggriculture egg share program."


Of course, if you're looking for farm-learning opportunities from around the world, you can always consider World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF)!


Or check out this awesome resource - a directory of Sustainable Farming Internships and Apprenticeships!