taste of fall: cream of mushroom soup

Cream of Mushroom Soup

So, you need to head over to Frugality and Crunchiness with Christy to find out the details of this fabulous Cream of Mushroom Soup. We made it for lunch this afternoon, and let me tell you, it was a hit!
We substituted the wheat flour/corn starch for Arrowroot to thicken it, and I added a smidge of nutmeg because I love nutmeg in cream soups. Other than that, we made it the same. Now, there are no more excuses to buy that canned cream soup full of additives when you have this nourishing recipe to base them off of!

taste of fall: soaked pumpkin bread

I love to bake in the Fall. I think it's because the hot Georgia days are finally cooling off and it's not so painful to turn on the oven and heat up the house. I get into a baking frenzy almost every year. I say "almost" because there have been plenty of Fall seasons when I've been pregnant and felt too sick or tired to bake. That's the exception. This year we have been making loads of soaked pumpkin bread. I've made 6 loaves already this week! It's been rainy, so we've been stuck inside.

For this recipe, I sometimes use organic canned pumpkin and other times, I bake a sugar pumpkin and use the meat from that. It's up to you what you prefer. I think it tastes the same wither way.

Soaked Pumpkin Bread

3 cups freshly ground organic whole wheat flour

2 cups filtered water

3 TBSP of kefir (or yogurt, whey, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice or kombucha)

1 15 oz can of organic pumpkin or 2 cups of fresh pumpkin (make sure the fresh is well drained)

1 cup sucanat (or 1/2 to 3/4 cup organic grade B maple syrup)

3 farm fresh pastured eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup coconut oil (or gently melted unsalted butter)

2 TBSP pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 1/2 aluminum free baking powder

1/2 baking soda

In a glass bowl, mix the flour, water and kefir together (it will be thick) and cover with plastic wrap. Idealy, you should let it soak for 24-48 hours but no less than 7 hours to help break down the mineral blocking phytic acid.

After it has soaked, add the pumpkin and stir well.

Grab another bowl and crack your eggs into it, whisk, then add your sucanat, vanilla and coconut oil and stir. 

Add this mixture to the flour/pumpkin mixture.

Next add your spices, salt, baking powder and baking soda.

Stir well but don't over-stir.

Pour into two greased (with coconut oil) bread pans. I bake them together at 350 degrees for about 90 minutes. Your time may vary, check with a toothpick for done-ness.

To make it fun, you could also add chocolate chips, carob chips, nuts, dried cranberries or raisins to the batter. We prefer it plain.

Serve with lots of pasture butter or homemade cream cheese along side a tall glass of raw Jersey milk.  

taste of fall: nourishing squash soup

I'm always looking for ways to get more stocks and broths into my family. I put it in almost everything! Here's a delicious squash soup I make using my homemade chicken stock. It has all the tastes of fall! This is wonderful to eat alongside most any meal all winter long. It also freezes very nicely!

¼ cup butter or coconut oil

½ butternut squash

½ spaghetti squash

3 cloves garlic freshly crushed

1 inch cube of fresh ginger chopped

1 tsp sea salt

½ tsp curry powder

½ tsp nutmeg

6 cups homemade chicken stock or broth 

Coconut milk, raw milk cream or cultured sour cream, kefir or Greek style yogurt for garnish.

First, cut spaghetti squash in half length wise. Remove seeds (leave skin on while baking). Place upside down and bake on cookie sheet at 350 for 1 hour.

Next, cut butternut squash in half, remove seeds and skin, cube.

Melt butter inside stockpot and add cubed butternut squash.

Sautee for 10-15 minutes.

Add:

Cooked spaghetti squash half (skin removed)

Garlic cloves

Ginger

Salt

Pepper

Nutmeg

Curry

Chicken Stock

Cook on medium/low for an hour or so, stirring every so often, until butternut squash is soft. Then, use a stick blender and blend until smooth.

Continue simmering the soup on low until you are ready to serve. Sometimes I will let it simmer on the stove top for several hours and it gets nice and thick.

When you are ready to serve, place in bowl and top with your choice of either coconut milk,  Greek-style yogurt, cultured raw milk or cream (kefir) or sour cream along with a dash of nutmeg for garnish.

Out of this world delicious and very nourishing during the winter months.