Soup-er Fall

I haven’t cooked since Sunday. Sickness fell on me like a klutzy boy in the hallways at school. With less than three sick days left to carry me through the year I wasn’t planning on spending any as October petered out. Some much for plans. I spent all of Monday horizontal, fading in and out of sleep. 

All I wanted was pho. Correction, I didn’t want to eat anything. That was how I knew I was sick. Well, that and the fact that my throat felt like razor blade soufflé had been the previous night’s dinner and my body felt as if it were being punished for eating razor blades. But when I’m sick my magical elixir is a bowl of pho sans any solid meat, and a fresh squeezed Vietnamese lemonade. 

But the thought of getting out of bed, let alone dressed and in a car strained me. So I foraged for leftovers in my fridge (the upside to cooking is leftovers in a pinch) and wandered back to bed to sleep some more.

Yesterday I wasn’t much better but interviewing for my open staff positions is essential and finding a time when three folks in my office are all available at the same time is damn near impossible. So off to work I scurried and heading home I stopped off for some pho from my favorite spot.

But two days with no cooking and I’m ancy. Never mind the leftover risotto still waiting to be consumed (I have a vision of trying out an arancini recipe but the thought of fried food is pretty repugnant at the moment) and some of the soba salad I salvaged is still bright and green and ready to be devoured, I wanted something different to eat…and more than that…I wanted to cook something.

Some people have to meditate, I get restless when too many days are without food preparation in the purest sense.

Wednesdays are my CSA box day. I appreciate it the way I appreciated the beginning of school way back in elementary, not because I was a geek (although I was) but because I have always adored fresh school supplies (ok maybe the geekiness and school supply adoration are the same thing). I find brand new pencils and empty notebooks, unmarred erasers and pristine backpacks thrilling. They, like freshly acquired groceries, are filled with potential. Anything can come of them. Magic and creativity are at my fingertips. 

Autumn is just falling upon us and so the vegetables are just beginning to change in the box. Now I’m seeing squash while the tomatoes have finally tapered off. The pomegranates are treat and the broccoli is showing its afro-ed head. 

Today screamed soup though. Simple soup. My desire to cook couldn’t override my lackluster appetite. A butternut squash remained from last week’s box and even though I don’t love beets, I’m always enthusiastic about the greens on top.

Always a student of trial an error, in recent weeks I’ve missed out on the radish and beet greens because I didn’t chop them off immediately. They withered and browned, crumbled and crunchy and lost to any edible recipe. Tonight I sheered my beets immediately and sliced the greens for a quick sauté in the butter residue left from making my croutons. They are delicious precisely because the bread is made from two heads of roasted garlic and also because I sauté them in butter before coating them in parmesan cheese and baking them at 350 degrees. The satisfying crunch is laced with dairy goodness through and through.

I figure the meal can stand a little fat. I used to make a curried cream based butternut squash soup, then I graduated to curried coconut squash soup. Both are deliciously heavy on the fat front.

Now my soup is simple and light, if filling. I start with a peeled squash- a pain to do just that much. I chop an onion (or two depending on the size and preference) and sauté that until the onions are caramelized, then I add a few cloves of garlic (I don’t believe there is ever too much) and toss those in. 

Next goes the peeled and cubed squash with some water to just cover it and then I throw in anywhere between a half cup to a full cup of red lentils. I’m not a carnivore but I am an omnivore and over the years I’ve found that to be satisfied with a vegetarian meal I need heavy protein. The lentils give me my protein and they cook down smoothly. 

I simmer the pot, layering salt and red pepper flakes to taste, until the squash is tender. When it cools slightly I divide it into two sections and blend it smooth. I never used to do this part- too lazy to be bothered with cleaning a new appliance (maybe one day I’ll buy an immersion blender but until then…sigh…) but now I love the velvety texture, the evenly distributed flavors. With some soups I appreciate the distinction between the various ingredients, the contrast between textures and colors. But for this soup, leaving it chunky looks cluttered and there is little variation in texture. So I vote smooth. 

Of course the simplicity of salt and red pepper can be replaced with cumin, coriander, and turmeric for the curried palate, or thyme, or any other assembly of flavors that suit you. But my body craved simplicity tonight so salt and pepper it was. 

Topped with the sautéed beet greens and accented with a few croutons, color and texture are purposefully (and artfully) presented. 

I had three bowls tonight, I must be on the mend. Now…whatever will the kitchen summon me to make tomorrow?