Accidental Gourds and Other Garden Happenings

I apologize for the hiatus. I got busy at work. Our fridge was broken, too -- technically it still is, though it'll stay cold for a few more days until the defroster (which is burned out) ices over again and seizes everything up. The part is on order.

But Lawson fixed the oven, so things are looking up.

While Lawson and I have been working too much and eating takeout food, his small fall garden has been taking off, what with heavy rains and benign neglect. The cabbages and collards should be ready for eating soon.

And look: we think this is a gourd.

It's definitely a cucurbit of some sort. When it first came up we thought it was a rogue late-season cucumber, because of the leaves and the vine growth pattern. Then it flowered, and the flowers looked exactly like zucchini blossoms, all trumpety and orange.

But then we started looking more closely at the vegetables below the flowers, and they have this beautiful duotone thing going. A weird squash hybrid? But Lawson remembered that I bought some ornamental gourds last year from a roadside stand in North Carolina, and that when fall was over I composted them. I spread some of that compost around this year's fall garden...and hey presto, a gourd plant. I hope it lasts through the upcoming freeze.

Garden Foods

The first garden foods are beginning to creep in to our meals. We don't have enough tomatoes yet to eat plain -- the rats got to the first round -- but we had some yellow cherry tomatoes for our salad. And we didn't have enough yellow squash for a squash gratin, but we had enough for a potato gratin with a little squash mixed in.

I liked this potato gratin enough that I plan to make it again soon. I sauteed some sliced red potatoes in olive oil, salting them lightly, then added a sliced squash, then moved the whole thing to a gratin pan. I sprinkled some thin slices of Emmenthaler cheese around and poured a little cream over the top, ground some pepper over the whole thing, and then baked it and browned the top. It was roughly based on MFK Fisher's descriptions of her cauliflower gratin and similar dishes she would make when she was young and poor and living in France.

That funny little thing on top of the chicken is smoked chicken liver. Astoundingly good.

Green Chile and Potato Soup

We went out for lunch with friends today to a fish taco joint in South Tucson. There are many taco stands with specialties in that part of town--menudo stands, birria places (that's shredded vinegary beef, wonderful stuff), ranging from hot-dog-cart style to sit-down eating. In between is the trailer with an awning alongside for shaded dining. Our place had tacos and burros, and large styrofoam cups of mixed fresh fruit sprinkled with chile pepper and lime (mango, watermelon, pineapple, jicama, and raw strips of coconut).

So when dinnertime came around, soup was enough for us. Here is a very easy and satisfying soup that you and Russell will remember from your childhood. This tasted especially interesting tonight because I used turkey broth from our Portuguese Thanksgiving turkey, and it had definite overtones of vinegar and sausage. Not a bad thing. We had an unorthodox side dish of golden squash with chives, limes, and cayenne.

Green Chile and Potato Soup

1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil

Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until soft.

4 roasted and peeled green chiles, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, cubed

Add chiles and tomato and simmer a few minutes.

2 or 3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 quarts chicken or vegetable broth or bouillon
1 teaspoon oregano
Salt and pepper to taste

Add remaining ingredients and cook until potatoes are very tender.

Grated jack cheese

Top each serving with grated cheese.

Men and Soup

I enjoyed your Butternut Squash Soup post. Dad is always encouraging me to make soup for dinner--an excellent idea, so why do I resist? Well, here's why: I made this absolutely terrific soup this evening, and he was looking around for the rest of the meal.

I admit that this is Wednesday evening, and I usually do my marketing on Thursday morning, therefore the the cupboard was a little bare. I can recommend this version of butternut squash soup, though, even if I'm embarrassed to reveal that I got the recipe from AARP magazine (and modified it).

Butternut Squash Soup

1 large butternut squash

Cut the squash in quarters, scrape out the seeds, and roast at 425 degrees for 1 hour. Turn over after 30 minutes.

1 tablespoon butter

1 chopped onion

2 strips bacon, chopped

Melt butter in soup kettle and add onion and bacon. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion is tender.

Cooked squash, scraped from skin

4 cups chicken broth

Add squash and broth to pot and cook about 30 minutes. Then add:

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Salt and pepper

Puree soup in blender. Serve topped with:

Chopped toasted pecans

Butternut Squash Soup

We bought some winter squash at that Hendersonville farm stand last week: one butternut, one buttercup, and several entertainingly lumpy gourds. Last night I made soup with the butternut squash.

The problem with winter squash soup recipes is that they require peeling the squash, which is a giant waste of time, and can actually be dangerous if you lack sharp knives and/or knife skills. I think that, like sweet potatoes, winter squash is best when roasted -- it seems to concentrate the flavor and intensify the sweetness. So instead of peeling and boiling, I started my butternut squash soup by roasting the squash at 400 degrees for about an hour. I cut it into 4 pieces first and sprayed it with a little olive oil.

The skin slides right off of roasted squash. Problem solved.

I sauteed a sweet onion and a tiny clove of garlic in 1 tablespoon each of butter and olive oil. Then I added a chopped Yukon Gold potato, the scooped-out squash innards, a cup of white wine (begging the pardon of Julia Child once again: it was a Chardonnay that I saved for cooking because it tasted like soda pop), and several cups of chicken broth.

I seasoned it with:

- a few fresh sage leaves, chiffonaded
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- a few thyme leaves
- salt

I simmered it until the potatoes softened, about 35 minutes, then pureed it with a little water so it didn't become gluey. I reheated it, stirred in a few tablespoons of chopped chives, and topped the bowls with:

- sour cream
- fresh black pepper
- sage leaves fried in butter and drained on paper towels
- whole fresh chives

(Fried sage leaves are amazing. Lawson makes tomato sauce with cannellini beans and fried sage leaves...simply the best pasta I've ever eaten.)

In the picture you also see a popover, and some mixed lettuce tossed with rice vinegar.

The soup was even better the next day. And now it truly feels like autumn, even if it is 90 degrees in Columbia today.