Simple Squash Soup or Sauce! Delish!

To be honest, before this year, I had never really given much thought to squash. Even after living in China and consuming my favorite dish of lan gua (pumpkin), I never thought to buy it at the grocery store or try cooking with it. After reading The Kind Diet, and looking into the health benefits of squash and seeing how there was an abundance of local squash growing in our climate (British Columbia), I decided to try it! I haven't looked back! At first, I was intimidated by the hard, tough skin and it seemed like such a mission just to cut through! I love cooking but I also like convenience!!! Let me tell you however; it's really NOT that hard! My mother in-law told me a trick: Cut the squash in half, place it on a baking sheet and put it in the oven (set at 350') for 10-15 minutes. The inside of the squash should easily be scooped out! If that doesn't work, then bake it a bit longer until it does!

Side Note: I am not really into measuring and following recipes by-the-book so bear with me! I will try to be more concise with time!

I have found with experimentation that sometimes I use the advice of my mother-in-law, sometimes I use my husband's strong hands (he'll like that!), and sometimes I just peel the outside (if for instance I'm using butternut squash which doesn't have a really tough exterior - in comparison to kombucha squash). You will find what works for you!
This recipe for my squash soup (or sauce), is ridiculously simple! The hardest part is cutting the kombucha squash into cubes and taking off the skin! So here is the recipe and I hope you like it!

Kombucha Squash Soup or Sauce:
1 Kombucha Squash cubed without skin
3 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp. of coconut oil
water to cover the squash in a pot
parsley as garnish

Place the cubed squash in a pot. Add enough water to just cover the squash as well as the oil. Bring water to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until the squash can easily be mashed. Add garlic for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and mash with a potato masher. Pour into bowls and garnish with parsley. Serves 2-4.

When I last made this, I served it as soup and then used the leftovers the next day and poured it over rice which was delicious but also brought a new experience to the dish! Enjoy this however you desire!

Benefits of Squash:
There are many benefits to squash (I am concentrating specifically on winter squash). These types of squash are rich in carotenes and diets which are rich in carotenes offer protection against cancers, heart disease as well as Type 2 Diabetes. Squash offer a good source of vitamins B1, B6 and niacin, vitamins C, folic acid (which is very important for women who are of child-bearing age as folic acid can prevent neural-tube defects in the fetus), pantothenic acid, fiber and potassium. There are so many benefits to squash and it's pretty delicious so enjoy and feel free to share your favorite squash recipe as I just recently started incorporating squash into my everyday and my family's meals!


Wishing you happiness and health! Jayanna