In LoVe with Fall food

 

 

Butternut LoVe squash soup

I love Autumn and the chance to get the big cast iron pot back out and start putting soups together with all of the amazing seasonal vegetables that we have available to us right now. Letting the soup simmer slowly, adding different spices and herbs as you go along. Sometimes the soup starting as one thing and by day 3 its had 3 different other flavours added to it. I would like to share some soup recipes starting with the delicious butternut squash, which can be used for many things like healthy chilli wedges!!! The thing is just make sure you pick a really phallus shaped one just so you can giggle and say things like 'thats just ridickulous' when you pay.

See what ingredients you can get from your local farmers market or at least a local organic vegetable store, support your local farmers, we need them! Why on earth do we insist on buying food that's been shipped across the world, polluting the environment with endless distribution resulting in losing most of the foods nutritional value in the process. Just go local as much as possible at least, maybe you just try for local one meal per week my good friend Theresa suggests, which I think is an amazing idea. Try it, every single ingredient, for one meal only, all local within 100 miles max. 

 

Back to what we need for the LoVe soup

 

1 butternut squash

cinnamon powder

nutmeg powder

1 sweet potato

sprinkle of pine nuts

grated sprinkle of almonds

rock salt

olive oil

 

Chop up the squash into pieces, and cover with water in a cast iron pot, or another big pot is good (just not aluminium as it can leech toxicity into foods). After about 20 mins add your chopped up sweet potato and ensure all are covered, let it simmer in the pot add a sprinkle of rock salt and 2 tablespoons of cinnamon  and some nutmeg to taste too. Once cooked through, blend it all up in the food processor to a nice thick goodness, and then add some olive oil, and more cinnamon/nutmeg if desired. Lightly roast some pine nuts in a frying pan, giving them a shake and toss about, and add a sprinkle of them on top with some grated almonds to taste too. Makes for a good crunch!

Cinnamon is great for blood sugar balance, and just adds that autumn spice to the sweet soup!

 

I like to add a little crunch with soups, and if you aren't adding crunchy bits to the actual soup, whack in some kale chips. I made these ones, by tearing the leaves from the stems, rubbing in olive oil, and them rubbing cumin into each leaf making a sticky spicy paste. Blast for 15 minutes on 350 and hoooooowwwwwllllllllllll with delight when you eat :)

 

Please be prepared for husbands and partners to be intimidated by Phallus Squash, comforting them by saying things like 'darling size doesn't matter' usually works. Then giggle. Then LoVe them by feeding them lots of nourishing LoVe soups, and getting that little bit closer on the couch as the cold nights set in, making for romantic hibernation time everywhere.

 

Enjoy!

Namaste 

 

The Raw Yogini

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

Calling all Cauli's!

 

 

Looking for ways to spruce up your salads as we move from summer to slowly smelling a scent of sweet autumn? Try this warm spicy salad to give you that freshness a salad can deliver, but also the heartiness of some spice and cruciferous delights. The cruciferous veggies are well known for helping to aid a nice poop too, which always feels great, and it's good for you!

 



I was inspired by a local restaurant called Nuba (on Broadway & Bayswater, or gastown Seymour & West Hastings) they are Lebanese tapas dishes mainly, and the menu is fantastic, a must try if you live in Vancouver. I've been chomping down their delicious Najibs special, which is cauliflower tossed with lemon and sea salt and some tahini, I think they over fry it a little, but its mouth wateringly fantastic and hard to share without scoffing to yourself. 

 

I decided to create a warm Lebanese inspired salad using this mouth watering ingredient. Here's how I did it, using the ingredients below, as you can see I'm not really a gal for measuring, go with what tastes best and what you like best, listen to your body!

 

Spinach, greens

Carrots, beets

Sweet potato

Cauliflower

Garlic

Lemon

Cumin

Olive oil

 

 

Simply chop up your carrots, beets into little cubes and smoother in olive oil, (you could also add a little honey after they have cooked if desired) and whack them in the oven at 350F in an oven proof dish (avoid aluminium where possible, its so much waste and not good for you) They should be done in around 60 minutes, sometimes the beets take a little longer, take the opportunity to sneak one in your hungry mouth to try. Chop the sweet potato into wedges and add to the oven for around 30-45 minutes depending on the thickness of wedges, just check them by prodding with a fork (like you might do to your partner to stop loud snoring). Good. They need prodding. Maybe start to keep a fork under your pillow. Next the Cauliflower, separate the florets and then add some crushed garlic, olive oil, rock salt, cumin (or tumeric) and fresh lemon juice and then grate the lemon peel to the florets, coating each one ensuring a nice pasty oil is covering the whole floret for maximum flavour. Whack in the oven with the rest for 30 minutes. Finally, lightly steam your greens adding some fresh lemon juice again to the leaves to help with digestion and add a lovely zing to the sometimes bitter leaves. Once everything is cooked, mix together in a fancy wooden bowl (not necessary of course) drizzle some more olive oil, rock salt, maybe some more grated lemon peel and you could also add some balsamic vinegar if desired. Scoff outside alone with a cosy blanket or with prodded non snoring partner and watch the leaves start to change colours ever so slightly....autumn is coming and I personally cannot wait :)

 

 

Cauliflowers have stacks of Vitamin C and K, and have been found to support digestion and cardiovascular systems, they also have anti cancer properties. For more amazing benefits of eating Cruciferous vegetables check out The Worlds Healthiest Foods here.  Fractal Cauliflowers are something else???? What an amazing world we live in!

 

Enjoy dinner, and take advantage of the last of summer, welcoming the new season coming.

 

Namaste,

The Raw Yogini