cooking and the csa

a few months back, lindsay and i joined a CSA (community support agriculture group). CSA’s aim at a new farmer-consumer relationship where consumers partake in the responsibility of the food growing process. by financially supporting the farmer in advance for crops expected each season, we sharing in the bounty and risks of the farmer’s labor. (click here for more info on CSA's)

we had to pay upfront what amounted to $25/wk. it would only be worth it if we really ate the stuff. if we did, it would be awesome because we would be eating all these really great veggies. so, we made a deal with each other that if we were going todo it, we had to eat it. and we have. it has been really fun.

tonight i made a really yummy soup and i thought i might share. a few days ago i realized we had all these winter roots and stuff from the CSA and we had to eat them soon. so i roasted them up. about 8 beets, a butternut squash, some sweet potatoes, 8 turnips, and a celeriac. we never got around to eating them. so tonight i decided to turn them into a soup. now, if you were to do this at home, you don't need to have all these ingredients. any root veggies or winter veggies will do. and i really think you could do it with just one kind of a veggie...anyway...

belly's roasted winter vegetable soup:
3-4 C of roasted vegetables
1 chopped onion
1 clove garlic minced
2 T olive oil
1 T minced fresh ginger
2 1/2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg (use whole nutmeg that you grate if you can)
3 cups organic pressed apple cider

Butternut Squash Soup Method:

roast winter vegetables. cut them into bite size pieces. place them in a flat sheet pan. drizzle with olive oil. bake at 425 for about 20 mins or until tender.

in large saucepan over medium saute onion and garlic in oil until translucent, about 5 minutes. add ginger, curry, cinnamon and nutmeg and cook for 1 minute. make sure the onions are coated in the spice

add roasted veggies and apple cider. heat to a boil. cover and reduce heat. simmer for 5 minutes. puree with a hand blender until it is smooth. you may need to add more juice. once it is all blended heat it just a bit and serve.

if you don't have a hand blender, you should get one if you can. they are awesome for smoothies and soups! if you don't have one, you can use a blender or food processor puree soup in batches until smooth.

this recipe made a bunch, probably 8 servings or more.

i was surprised at how yummy this was. it has a nice sweet and spicy flavor and doesn't have that "healthy food" taste. but it is awesome and totally vegan, if you are into that.

if you try this, please let me know what you think.