[recipe difficulty=”easy”]

1. Fry the squash over high heat stirring frequently until the squash is slightly browned and very aromatic.
2. Add salt and a lot of black pepper (to your taste) and fry a minute longer.
3. Add broth and star anise and simmer for 20-30 minutes until squash is soft.
4. Let cool, remove star anise, and puree in blender until very smooth.
5. Adjust for seasoning and add sugar if needed.  Squash vary in their sweetness.
6. Refrigerate a day or more for best flavor.
7. Reheat and if you'd like,  add milk or cream before serving. I don't do think it needs milk or cream.

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1. Fry onions in 1 tbs. melted butter in large saucepan until soft and just beginning to brown, remove and set aside.
2. Add the rest of the butter and some olive oil and fry the vegetables one vegetable at a time over very high heat until fragrant and beginning to brown. 
3. Combine  all the vegetables including the onions, add a bay leaf and salt and pepper to taste, and the broth and simmer, covered for 20-30 minutes or until the vegetables are soft, but not mushy.
4. Just before the vegetables are cooked mix the cornstarch and water together and add 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring to the soup. Let it cook together and add only as much cornstarch as necessary to make a chowder consistency, stirring to avoid lumps. Simmer gently until the cornstarch taste is gone.
5. Remove from heat and for best results refrigerate at least a day.
6. Reheat, and when simmering add frozen peas. 
7. When the peas are cooked, add the milk and remove the bay leaf.
8. Taste for seasoning. This soup is good with lots of pepper.

  ZUCCHINI RECIPES

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Japanese Noodle Soup:  Serves 6   This soup is the ultimate comfort food.  If any of the ingredients are not on your “favorite food list”, you can omit them.  Once you have all the ingredients, this soup comes together easily and you only need a salad to have a wonderful meal.  It also has many healthy ingredients and can be entirely vegetarian if you use vegetable broth and omit the dashi.        

   The dashi is in the center and the shichimi togarashi is to the right. *  Note about ingredients:  Dashi, wakame, napa cabbage, shichimi togarashi and edaname can all be purchased at Wegmans and other grocery stores with good Asian sections.  I have posted a picture of all these ingredients so you know what you’re looking for.  The edaname are often found in the frozen section in their pods.  But at the Asian grocers you can find them frozen and already out of the pods which is much more convenient.  The noodles are found fresh in the refrigerator section of the Asian grocery store but you can use any noodle that you’d like including dry noodles such as soba or even spaghetti.  FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THESE INGREDIENTS CLICK ON THE LINK AT THE LEFT SIDE OF THIS PAGE:  "FOOD THESAURUS"

[recipe difficiulty=”easy”]

Japanese Noodle Soup:  Serves 6

Ingredients: 

8 cups( 2-  32 ounce cartons) chicken or vegetable broth

3 tsp. instant dashi *

1 heaping Tbs. dried wakame (seaweed)*

5 dried shitake mushrooms

1 14 ounce block extra firm tofu, cut into one inch by one inch strips

1 small head napa cabbage, cut into slices*

5 scallions, chopped

1 16 oz. bag Pan fried noodle Hong Kong style or any dried noodle*

1 cup shelled edaname (soy beans)

1 Tbs. fresh ginger, grated or finely chopped

2 Tbs. miso

Shichimi Togarashi (red pepper and sesame seed spice blend)*

 Cooking Instructions

1.     Heat the broth to boiling in a large pot and add the dashi.

2.     Meanwhile, soak the mushrooms for 15 minutes in a bowl of ½ cup hot water placing a smaller bowl on top of the mushrooms, to make sure they are immersed.

3.     Soak the wakame also in a bowl of 1 cup hot water for 15 minutes. It will expand to about 1 cup.

4.     When the broth has come to a boil add the ginger, tofu,edamame and cabbage and simmer for 10-15 minutes until cabbage is just cooked.

5.     Once the mushrooms have soaked, slice them and add them to the broth along with the soaking liquid which has been strained of particles.  Also, add the reconstituted wakame which has been rinsed and coarsely chopped. Discard soaking liquid.

6.     Meanwhile, as the soup is cooking, either cook the noodles according to directions or, if you are using the pan fried noodles, fry them in a little oil and add ½ cup water and cover to allow them to steam for 5 minutes.  Then remove the lid and continue frying until lightly brown and crispy, stirring frequently. I do this in two batches.

7.     Mix the miso with a little hot broth until free of lumps and add to soup for the last 2 minutes of cooking.  Miso should not be boiled.

8.     To serve:  Ladle soup in a large bowls, sprinkle each serving with scallion and serve the noodles, and shichimi togarashi separately for people to serve themselves.

Feel free to use your culinary expression to add or omit any ingredients.  This is a very free form dish which you can tailor make to your taste.

 *  Note about ingredients:  Dashi, wakame, napa cabbage, shichimi togarashi and edaname can all be purchased at Wegmans and other grocery stores with good Asian sections.  I have posted a picture of all these ingredients so you know what you’re looking for.  The edaname are often found in the frozen section in their pods.  But at the Asian grocers you can find them frozen and already out of the pods which is much more convenient.  The noodles are found fresh in the refrigerator section of the Asian grocery store but you can use any noodle that you’d like including dry noodles such as soba or even spaghetti.  FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THESE INGREDIENTS CLICK ON THE LINK AT THE LEFT SIDE OF THIS PAGE:  "FOOD THESAURUS"

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Years ago when Turbacks was the first restaurant that served locally produced foods, I managed to get their signature Curried Pumpkin Mushroom Soup recipe. It’s been a favorite with all of us and friends ask for it when they come to visit from out of town. This fall my share from Full Plate CSA included some beautiful and delicious cooking pumpkins. These pumpkins are just the right size to function as serving bowls for this great soup.

½ lb. sliced mushrooms½ cup chopped onions

2 Tbs. butter or oil 1 Tbs. curry powder or to taste

3 cups vegetarian or chicken broth

1 lb. canned pumpkin (or fresh: cooked and pureed)

½-1 Tbs. honey

1 cup evaporated milk

Dash of nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste.

If you decide to use fresh pumpkin, cut off the top first. Then bake for 30-45 minutes until soft (with seeds still inside). When cool enough peel off skin and discard seeds. If you decide to use the shell as a container, then scrape out the seeds and discard (or roast) and scrape out some of the pulp to use in the soup leaving enough to make a sturdy bowl for the soup.

1. Sauté onions until translucent.
2. Add mushrooms and cook for a few minutes until just cooked.
3. Add curry powder and cook for 2 more minutes stirring.
4. Add broth, bring to bowl and add pumpkin, honey and seasoning.
5. Cook, stirring occasionally for 10-15 minutes.
6. Add evaporated milk and heat without boiling.
7. Adjust for seasoning adding more salt or honey or pepper as you like.
8. It’s ready to serve.