The Gluten-Free Homemaker

Wendy Gregory Kaho left a freelance writing career to home school and to find a diagnosis for herself and her children. After a decade of searching and numerous doctors, she discovered that she and her children had celiac disease. Wendy became a blogger and activist in the celiac community. With her blog, Celiacs in the House, Wendy chronicles the challenges and the joy of creating tasty gluten-free food for her family.


It’s always a bittersweet moment when the first pumpkins and squash make their appearance at our farmers’ market and grocery stores. Even though fall is my favorite time of year and this summer has been uncomfortably hot, I know it won’t be long before the snow flies. I then remind myself to savor all the flavors of the season and get into the kitchen with my favorite-butternut squash. It is usually the first soup I make as the nights cool and I wake up to rainy, gray days. There are many recipes for roasted butternut squash soup, but my favorite is a Curried Roasted Butternut Squash Soup.



The curry powder and a little honey bring out the sweetness of the squash and the coconut milk and toasted coconut combined with just a hint of heat from the chipotle warm up a cool autumn day.

Curried Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients

• 1 butternut squash
• ½ onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery chopped
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 3 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 can lite coconut milk
• ½ tsp chipotle powder
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1 Tbs honey
• Salt
• Toasted Coconut and Smoked Paprika for garnish

Directions
Cut squash in half and remove seeds. Place cut side down in baking pan and add ¼ cup of water or about an inch of water. Roast in oven for 45-55 minutes at 350. Remove from oven when done and allow to cool with cut side up. Scoop out the cooked squash.

In your soup pot, sauté the onion and celery in the olive oil for about 8-10 minutes. Add the vegetable or chicken broth and simmer another 10 minutes. Add the cooked squash, stir in salt to taste, curry powder , cayenne, and honey and simmer another 5 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk. Puree most of the soup in a food processor, Vitamix or blender leaving some of the chunky bits behind in the soup pot if you like a chunkier soup. (I do.) Pour the puree back into the pot and warm though. Serve with toasted, shredded coconut and smoked paprika sprinkled on top.

For an in depth tutorial on winter squash look at Shannon’s post at Simple Bites on How to Select, Prepare, and Cook Winter Squash.

Visit Celiacs in the House this week for my first ‘Cooking School’ session with my 20 year-old son where we make a butternut squash lasagna with kale, caramelized onions, spicy Andouille sausage and the Gluten Free Girl’s homemade pasta recipe. We’re quite proud of our collaboration.

Labels: Squash Fest