November - Tomato Love (a Canning Story)
My best friend came in to 3 boxes of tomatoes from our favorite farmer at the end of November, and I FINALLY had some time to can with her. We have a pretty slick system worked out, and it only took us a few hours to prep and can 12 quarts of crushed tomatoes. There is nothing so wonderful as opening a jar of local tomatoes and tasting their freshness in the dead of winter! Sunshine in a jar!
Invasion of the Body Snatchers - Holy Cow What a Squash!
While we were canning, HeatherAnne gave me the largest Hubbard squash I've ever seen. My husband posted pictures on Facebook, and we were rewarded with lots of hilarious guesses as to which body was snatched!
Fortunately, we are all safe, and none of us have been replaced by pod people (we think). This massive member of the squash family got chopped into eight still huge pieces and roasted until soft. The sections went into the freezer until I had time to make them into...Creamy Winter Squash Soup
(served 6)
6 Cups finely pureed winter squash
3 Cups skim milk or fat free condensed milk
2 Scoops Herbalife Vanilla Protein Drink Mix (optional)
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Ginger
1 Clove (crushed)
3 Allspice (crushed)
4 Cardamom pods (crushed)
I achieved the pureed winter squash by scraping the roasted winter squash into a dutch oven or stock pot with a little water and heating it until it "squished" under the spoon. At that point, the fully cooked squash went into the blender where it was thoroughly pureed.
Place all ingredients in a large saucepan and heat through, allowing the spices to blend into the body of the soup for 20-30 minutes. The Herbalife Protein Drink Mix added 15 grams of protein to the soup, making it a more complete meal for a cold, winter night. My family DEVOURED this soup and begged for more!
Save Some Room For Later - Future Squash Love
One of the really great things about that giant Hubbard, is that even after making soup for our large family, there was still a full dutch oven of pureed squash. All of the extra puree was slowly simmered until it was reduced to a thick paste. That thick paste is in the freezer, waiting to make... You guessed it! Squash Pies! Recipe to come...
You Can Never Have Too Many Noodles - Hanging Out
A couple of weeks ago, I felt a cold coming on, so I worked from home, took my Herbalife Best Defense (10x stronger than Airborne), and decided that Turkey Noodle Soup was just what I needed to boost my immunity and my spirits. It was just after Thanksgiving, so we had a beautiful, simple, homemade turkey broth, loads of leftover turkey, and a ton of leftover veggies from our feast. The only thing we lacked were noodles. As a Celiac, my noodle options are growing (if I want to spend an arm and a leg), but still limited. Besides, what could be better in homemade turkey soup than homemade whole grain gluten free noodles???
I used a basic egg noodle recipe, but substituted Sorghum flour for the all purpose flour, added a tablespoon of Xanthan Gum (available in most grocery stores). It's important to knead the dough well so the Xanthan Gum can bind thoroughly with the Sorghum flour.(served 6)
6 Cups finely pureed winter squash
3 Cups skim milk or fat free condensed milk
2 Scoops Herbalife Vanilla Protein Drink Mix (optional)
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Ginger
1 Clove (crushed)
3 Allspice (crushed)
4 Cardamom pods (crushed)
I achieved the pureed winter squash by scraping the roasted winter squash into a dutch oven or stock pot with a little water and heating it until it "squished" under the spoon. At that point, the fully cooked squash went into the blender where it was thoroughly pureed.
Place all ingredients in a large saucepan and heat through, allowing the spices to blend into the body of the soup for 20-30 minutes. The Herbalife Protein Drink Mix added 15 grams of protein to the soup, making it a more complete meal for a cold, winter night. My family DEVOURED this soup and begged for more!
Save Some Room For Later - Future Squash Love
One of the really great things about that giant Hubbard, is that even after making soup for our large family, there was still a full dutch oven of pureed squash. All of the extra puree was slowly simmered until it was reduced to a thick paste. That thick paste is in the freezer, waiting to make... You guessed it! Squash Pies! Recipe to come...
You Can Never Have Too Many Noodles - Hanging Out
A couple of weeks ago, I felt a cold coming on, so I worked from home, took my Herbalife Best Defense (10x stronger than Airborne), and decided that Turkey Noodle Soup was just what I needed to boost my immunity and my spirits. It was just after Thanksgiving, so we had a beautiful, simple, homemade turkey broth, loads of leftover turkey, and a ton of leftover veggies from our feast. The only thing we lacked were noodles. As a Celiac, my noodle options are growing (if I want to spend an arm and a leg), but still limited. Besides, what could be better in homemade turkey soup than homemade whole grain gluten free noodles???
I Love love love my manual pasta press for creating really consistent noodles. Since these are a denser, whole grain noodle, I would only run them to a level 4 or 5 on the machine (thicker noodles). I then cut them using the large linguini (wide), cutting guard. A simple dowel rack is perfect for hanging the noodles out to dry. These noodles cook best if they have an hour or so to dry. They also freeze very well.
Homemade Turkey Noodle Soup
1 Onion (diced)
8 Cups turkey broth (or canned chicken broth)
2 Cups leftover turkey (chopped)
2 - 4 Cups leftover vegetables (corn, green beans, carrots, peas, etc)
1 Tbsp ground Sage
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp garlic salt
Salt and Pepper to taste
Egg Noodles
1 Onion (diced)
8 Cups turkey broth (or canned chicken broth)
2 Cups leftover turkey (chopped)
2 - 4 Cups leftover vegetables (corn, green beans, carrots, peas, etc)
1 Tbsp ground Sage
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp garlic salt
Salt and Pepper to taste
Egg Noodles
In a stock pot or dutch oven, heat the diced onion until softened, then add the broth. Add the chopped turkey and leftover vegetables, sage, garlic, salt and pepper. Let all of the flavors blend over low-med heat for up to 2 hours. 5-10 minutes before serving, add handfuls of dried noodles until you're happy with the soup to noodle ratio.
The combination of protein, immune boosting garlic, and antibacterial sage worked wonders on my cold! This was also a HUGE hit with the family. Leftovers? Not for long!
The combination of protein, immune boosting garlic, and antibacterial sage worked wonders on my cold! This was also a HUGE hit with the family. Leftovers? Not for long!
Best Squash Soup Ever. And the seeds are tasty when roasted
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