Day 17 - Because I really can count.

Today I watched Food, Inc. again, steeling myself to make better choices for those in my family still eating meat.  I then went to the market and bought some organic chicken thighs for my husband and daughter to eat.  I can't bring myself to purchase ground beef anymore, and now that my daughter is willing to eat TVP I see no reason to. 

Today I baked some whole wheat gingerbread using a mix made by Hodgson's Mill.  My daughter absolutely adores gingerbread and I have been on the prowl for a good recipe.  Usually, I am not a fan of mixes when baking, but this one listed some ingredients I can live with:  Whole grain whole wheat flour; molasses (soy lethicin); brown sugar; baking soda; ginger; cinnamon; salt; cloves.  I added rice milk (instead of dairy milk), applesauce (instead of butter) and Ener-G egg replacer (instead of, you guessed it, eggs!) to make a very low fat, cholesterol free treat for her.  

I am also preparing an Acorn Squash soup, vegan style.  I found a pair of beautiful organic squashes a few weeks ago and wasn't sure just what I wanted to do with them.  After deciding upon a soup, I did a search for recipes, only to find most had chicken broth, evaporated milk, butter, or other ingredients I am avoiding.  After a bit more refined searching I lit upon this recipe:


Acorn Squash Soup, Vegan Style
    1 onion
    1 acorn squash (about 1 lb)
    half package sliced portabella mushrooms
    1 container vegtable stock
    salt and pepper to taste
    1/2 teaspoon onion powder
    1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
    1 teaspoon of basil
    1/2 teaspoon chili powder (optional)


1. Place vegetable broth in pot along with spices.
2. Peel and cut up squash and toss in along with mushrooms into pot.
3. Dice up onion and add to pot.
4. Boil everything for about 45 minutes till squash is tender.
5. Let cool for 20 minutes will be very hot.
6. Put in blender until everything is liquid.
7. Place back in pot and add salt and pepper.
8. Serve.

Now, the thing about acorn squash is, it's hard.  Really hard.  Like, stone hard.  Meanwhile, the recipe wants it diced.  Enter the hero of our story, the internet!  After googling "acorn squash too hard"  (I am not making that up) I learned that when the end result is a soup, you can bake the whole squash in the oven (being sure to poke it with holes so it doesn't explode in there and make a godawful mess.) 

Right now, I have a very small piece of gingerbread and a very large glass of water in front of me as I type this and wait for my rock, I mean squash, to bake up.  Everything else is waiting in the pot, sliced and diced and combined, all ready to go. 

Damned uncooperative tuber.