Squash Soup Method

I misplaced my camera, so I drew this on MS Paint. It's probably better than the pictures I take anyway.

I won't lie, I have trouble following recipes. There is always some ingredient that I don't have and some ingredient that I want to add to see what happens. I apologize to the people who have eaten some of experiments over the years. Eventually I do get things right though. I have made numerous squash soups and most of them have been atrocious. Thankfully, I have managed to figure out a method that I think gets optimal nutrition with paleo ingredients. 

First, the squash. While pumpkin has many positive associations, it is actually a pretty inferior squash and most canned pumpkin is actually hubbard squash. I like Hubbard, Red Kuri, Kabotcha, and Butternut squashes because they have non-stringy texture and plenty of flesh. Yes, you can put squash in your crock pot and it turns out great. You don't even have to cut it up, just stick it in there on low, go about your business and when its soft you can add it to things without even peeling it, just cut and scoop out the flesh. 

Second, the stock. I usually make soup when I have leftover bones lying around. The longer you cook those bones, the better nutrition you get from them, including calcium, which is hard to get in non-dairy diets. The stock can also be made in the crock pot, of course. An hour before I am going to make the soup, I put the stock in a pot and add some seaweed, an important source of iodine and other minerals, and some dried mushrooms. I simmer that and sometimes it smells not so delicious, but in the end it tastes fine. After that I add the soft squash and some spices and simmer it 10 minutes more. 

After that, my mission is to make it creamy by getting rid of the stringy parts of the squash and adding some creamy fat. I used to use coconut milk, but because of the BPA problem I use it less and less. Tonight I used homemade nut milk. I blended just a few walnuts until I got a creamy liquid and strained the nut pulp out. You could also use the flesh of a young thai coconut. If you tolerate dairy well, just use cream...because it uh, makes things creamy pretty well. 

Remove the bone and the seaweed if you don't like it. I leave it in though and add everything to the blender along with the nut milk/cream and blend it. Voila! Creamy flavorful squash soup packed with nutrients. 

I forgot to mention that this soup is also extremely soothing for upset stomachs. Kombu and squash are both prized for their ability to calm the digestive system.