Kobocha squash soup!

Because of our overindulgence this past holiday, I have decided to keep our meals as simple as possible these next few weeks before we indulge all over again! I try my darnedest, but I just can never resist the homemade cookies and pies during the holidays! Then, afterward, I pay for it with cravings and a rough time getting back to our normal fare. 

Anyhow! This recipe idea came from Alicia Silverstone's book "The Kind Diet", which I've used as a resource for vegan meals for about 3 years now! I love it. So many veggies in her recipes. Things I've never tried she has gotten me to try! Easy recipes, no crazy ingredients (well...not crazy to me anymore), and though not every recipe is my taste, I know whatever I make is nutritious and animal friendly. All good in creating a diet for prevention of chronic diseases and for making lighter, easily digestible meals.

I decided to make Kobocha squash soup. I had a hankering for a warm, nourishing, colorful, seasonal soup and I chose Kobocha squash because she uses it quite a bit in her book, but I've never really tried it in this soup! I usually opt for butternut in this kind of soup, but I thought I would try the Kobocha. Butternut is usually pretty readily available at the grocery store, and Kobocha is a bit harder to find, but I was determined! I found an organic one in the second store I tried!

It's actually a pretty hard squash to find because many times it is not labeled. I'm not sure if the store doesn't know what kind it is or what! But it's a beautiful squash and interesting to look at. It is also REALLY hard to chop up! So if you try it, be careful and make sure you have a sharp knife.

Slice the squash in half and then in half moons to skin and chop up. There are a lot of seeds so be sure to scoop them out! I chopped an onion right after the squash. I only used 1/2 of an onion instead of a whole because we are not a big onion loving family!

I varied Alicia's recipe quite a bit because I wanted a bit more hardiness. I used some coconut oil to sauté the onions, and used half veggie broth, half water, instead of no veggie broth, no onion, and no oil! It's starting to sound like I didn't use her recipe at all. But her recipe and book inspired me (it is even in the background there!).

I chopped up the onion and the squash, melted the oil in the pan, and then sauteed. After sauteing the onion in the oil, you add the veggie broth/water and the cut up squash.

I boiled until tender  (which did not take much time at all) and then scooped out the squash and blended it up in my blender (you can also use a food processor and it would probably work better. Unless you have a Vitamix, and then you are loving life!). Then it just goes back into the pot to warm again when it needs to be ready for the meal. I always try the food I make. I don't understand those who say "I never try what I make. It's either good, or it's not!". I don't get it! I always try it so that if it needs a little something, I can add it right then! But this is your soup. You do what you want. I found that it needed a little sea salt and pepper.

This recipe turned out really great! It was such a beautiful golden color in the white bowls that I have. I should have taken a picture because it was a striking color. I've learned that in order to pick out a nice sweet squash you must look for a rich dark green color with an orange spot on one side where the squash was laying on the ground. Also, you want it to be on the heavy side. If picking between two, choose the heaviest one! 

Here is the easy, peasy recipe:

1 Kobocha squash skinned and cut into chunks. However you know how to best do this! (butternut works nice too)

1/2 to 1 onion chopped (depending on your preference)

3 1/2 cups veggie broth (or chicken). I also used 1/2 broth 1/2 water because the original recipe called for water only

1 Tblsp coconut oil

Salt and pepper to taste 

See above for steps to cook.

Please try it! It would probably be wonderful with some coconut milk mixed in to make it a bit more creamy, and using all broth and no water would also give it a bit more Umph! But we enjoyed this version for sure. The only side we had was a nice green salad (again no picture! I'm still learning.) To the salad we added sugar snap peas, tomatoes, raisins, sunflower seeds, and celery! I love some sweetness in my salads. It went really well with the soup.

I also LOVE toast so I made myself some for the side. I'm not eating wheat so it was a rye bread with some earth balance butter and honey. YUM!

If you do choose to make this soup, I hope you look for organic ingredients! It seems to me the organic produce just has a bit more flavor, and it does my heart good to know I'm serving my family a few less pesticides with their dinner.

I also hope this post leads to some great meals for you! Here is what the day looked like when I cooked ours: 

Brrrrrrrrrr!!!!!
It was just a soup kinda day! Now go make some soup!

Be well,

Mandy