SEPTEMBER 2019: GOLDEN BEET SOUP

Beets 1

Aside from the occasional encounter with borscht at Jewish delis while growing up, beets weren’t even remotely on my gastronomical radar until my mid-20s. Charmed by their varied colors on my frequent post-college farmers market strolls, and then by a memorable beet and goat cheese salad in southern France, I eventually bought my first bunch and never looked back.

My beet repertoire was still quite limited then, as I tended to only purchase the red ones for roasting with brussel sprouts and sweet potatoes (a staple dinner for my husband and I in the temperate weather months) or recreating that beloved beet and goat cheese salad. In fact, I’m not sure that I ever tried a golden beet pre-dysphagia. Nonetheless, I can vouch for the differences in taste produced by soups made with red versus yellow beets. Yellow beets have a lighter, sweeter flavor, making them perfect for late spring, summer, and early fall meals.

This golden beet soup is simultaneously light and hearty, and satisfying both chilled or warm. In short, it adapts perfectly to the gentle back-and-forth fluctuations in weather that are part and parcel of September.

Beets 2

Golden Beet Soup

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Yield: Approximately 8 cups

Ingredients:
1.5 pounds (24 ounces) golden beets, peeled and halved
1 large carrot (approximately 3.5 ounces), peeled and halved
1 cup water
¼ cup onion, chopped
½ garlic clove, chopped
1 tbsp. plain olive oil
1 tbsp. white wine
5 cups (40 ounces) vegetable broth (I use 2 cups of water along with 2 teaspoons of Reduced Sodium Better than Bouillon Vegetable Base and 3 cups of Garden Inn Reduced Sodium Vegetable Broth– they produce a lovely flavor)

Instructions:

*Is this your first time preparing a soup for someone with dysphagia? To avoid common mishaps, take a minute to review my “Novice Essentials” page before you begin!(https://dinnertimewithdysphagia.wordpress.com/novice-essentials/)

1. Place peeled and halved beets and carrots in a baking pan. Pour the cup of water over them. Cover with tin foil and bake on 375 degrees for 1 – 1 ½ hours. Check to see if the beets are ready at the 1 hour mark by prodding with a fork. If the fork goes through the whole of the beet effortlessly, it’s done. If there’s still some resistance, place baking pan back in the oven for another 15-30 minutes.

2. Let beets and carrots cool for 30 minutes.

3. Place beets, carrots, and water from the baking pan into the blender and puree thoroughly. Add more water if needed.

4. In a pot or dutch oven, saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil. Add the pureed vegetables, white wine, and vegetable broth. Keeping the pot uncovered, bring to a boil, and then continue to cook on a medium to high boil (it’s essential that it keep boiling during this time) for 20 minutes.

5. Let soup cool for 30 minutes.

6. Blend for 1-2 minutes on a high setting and enjoy! (For this recipe, no straining is needed.)

Note: Like the avocado soup in last month’s post, this is delicious with a dollop of plain NON-GREEK yogurt (hard to find these days, but Stonyfield is terrific) and a splash of basil oil (or other flavored oil—this is my go-to these days: https://www.amazon.com/LOlivier-Olive-Infused-Herbs-Provence/dp/B000W09YVE) on top.

Cheese pairing: This soup pairs beautifully with a rich wedge of Fromager d’Affinois.

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JULY/AUGUST 2019: AVOCADO, IN ESSENCE

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I rarely encountered avocados in my earliest years. Perhaps it was a product of the times (the 1980s) and the area where I grew up (the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. East Coast). But one day, around age 11, I chanced upon one in the fridge of my childhood home. I tried a bite, and was immediately put off by its bland flavor.

A few years later, I was introduced to my friend Robin’s homemade guacamole at my high school’s annual Cultural Fair. I couldn’t get enough of it, and seeing just how enamored I was, she generously offered me the recipe. Once I started to buy avocados to make the guacamole on an ongoing basis, they became a staple for use in other meals too. And slowly, my earlier sense that they were too bland was completely transformed.

Fast forward fifteen years. In the summer months of 2013, just before my journey with dysphagia began, I’d begun to grill avocado halves as a default dinner after long days of fieldwork, filling them with chopped tomatoes, sautéed onions, minced scallions, and a little sour cream. It was the easiest and most satisfying summer meal I could imagine, requiring about 15 minutes of prep time (so much less work than guacamole)!

I’ve wanted to find a way to recapture the taste of guacamole and of avocados proper in the form of chilled summer soups for a long time, and am so happy to report that I’ve finally managed to do just that. The recipe for the guacamole-flavored soup (a little fancier, and requiring a bit more work) will be forthcoming in a 2020 blog post. The avocado proper recipe is provided below. It’s deeply refreshing AND so simple and quick to make. In short, it captures the essence of avocado beautifully. On a hot summer evening, when you want a meal that’s not too much of a patshke, that requires no stove/oven/microwave use, and that’s delicious and nutritious to boot, you need look no further than this 5-minute recipe.

Avocado soup
Simple Avocado Soup with Creamy Gouda Spread

Simple Avocado Soup

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Yield: Approximately 6 cups

Ingredients:
2 ripe or ripe-ish avocados
3 ¾ cups of cold water
1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

*Is this your first time preparing a soup for someone with dysphagia? To avoid common mishaps, take a minute to review my “Novice Essentials” page before you begin!(https://dinnertimewithdysphagia.wordpress.com/novice-essentials/)

1. Scoop avocado flesh into blender pitcher.

2. Add cold water and salt to blender pitcher.

3. Blend on LOW setting for 1 minute (on my blender with settings from 1 to 10, I use 3 or 4–if the setting is too high, it gets super frothy and people with liquid dysphagia will have trouble eating it.)

4. Pour contents over a fine mesh strainer into a container or serving bowl. Any leftover content in the strainer can be thrown out (or enjoyed by someone without dysphagia). 🙂

Note: You can fancy this up with minimal effort by adding a dollop of plain NON-GREEK/NON-STRAINED yogurt (this can be hard to spot among all the mostly Greek or strained options on market shelves these days–the major brands that continue to offer non-Greek/non-strained options–often alongside their own Greek ones–are Stonyfield, Dannon, and the supermarket’s generic brand) and a splash of basil oil (or other flavored oil) on top. Lemon juice may be a nice accompaniment to offer to people at the table without dysphagia.

Cheese pairing: This is delicious with Smith’s Country Cheese’s Creamy Gouda spread (https://www.smithscountrycheese.com/product/creamy-gouda-spread/); on the side for folks with dysphagia, and atop a nice crusty bread for those without! Smith’s Country Cheese ships across the U.S. and sells directly to customers at farmers markets throughout Massachusetts during the summer and fall seasons.

MAY/JUNE 2019: BRINGING BACK THE BASIL

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Many years ago, my friend Beth and I attended Boston’s annual flower show. In addition to the eye-candy of the countless gorgeous (and truly gargantuan) landscaped gardens at the heart of the event, a diverse set of vendors were on-hand to advertise their products and services. We chanced upon a pesto-making demonstration sponsored by Cedar Spring Herb Farm of Cape Cod (http://www.cedarspringherbfarm.com/), and their basil pesto was, by far, the best one I’ve ever tasted.

After managing to secure the recipe, it became a staple that I’d make every week in the summer with bunches of fragrant basil, fresh from the farmer’s market. I generally served it atop yellow and red tomato salads with fresh mozzarella, or on a baguette from Clear Flour Bakery alongside caramelized zucchini and some colorful roasted beets.

I would always think of Beth and our flower show adventure as I prepared the pesto in the food processor and took that first savory bite. The regularity with which food evokes and organizes our memories of time spent with others never ceases to amaze me.

Because of my dysphagia, I can no longer eat pesto in its raw, unadulterated form. And so I found myself—motivated by the desire to find some way to continue to experience the flavor of the basil pesto and the beautiful memories it conjures for me—seeking some alternative repackaging.

It’s such a delight to share that I’ve captured the taste and memories I associate with basil pesto in this newly devised basil-infused zucchini soup. It’s a bit more involved than some of my other zucchini soup recipes because of the caramelized onions, which complement the basil flavor so beautifully (if you’re looking for a delicious but very quick zucchini soup recipe, see my January 2019 post).

Zucchini Basil

In infusing the soup with the flavor of pesto, you have two options. First, you can use a few tablespoons of basil olive oil. Local supermarkets seem to stock it these days with increasing regularity. I’ve historically bought mine at the Olive Connection (https://www.oliveconnection.com/product/basil-evoo-calif/) in Brookline, which ships across the U.S. If you really want to get fancy, the incredible French basil oils of A L’Olivier (https://www.amazon.com/LOlivier-Olive-Infused-Basil-Ounce/dp/B001GR7U72/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=l%27olivier+basil+olive+oil&qid=1580318529&sr=8-2) and Oliviers & Co (https://www.amazon.com/Oliviers-Co-Italian-Flavored-Vegetables/dp/B01LVWGD1Y/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=oliviers%2Bbasil%2Bolive%2Boil&qid=1580318776&sr=8-2&th=1) are now available for speedy purchase in the U.S. via Amazon.

You can also infuse the soup with a combination of pesto and basil oil. I’ve included the pesto version I make care of Cedar Spring Herb Farm below, but you can use your own recipe or one from the supermarket too. As thrilled as I am to have this soup as an impetus to make and enjoy my homemade pesto again, I sometimes opt for a stellar store-bought container of Bear Pond Farm’s basil pesto when PhD life requires it.

summer zucchini

Basil-Infused Zucchini Soup

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Yield: Approximately 6 cups

Ingredients:
½ cup onion, sliced from root to stem (I cut from wedges) for effective caramelizing
1 tablespoon plain olive oil
2 ½ pounds (40 ounces) zucchini, peeled and cut into rounds
2 ½ cups (20 ounces) vegetable broth (I use Garden Inn’s Low Sodium Vegetable Broth )
3 tablespoons basil olive oil OR ½ tablespoon basil pesto with 2 ½ tablespoons basil olive oil

Instructions:

*Is this your first time preparing a soup for someone with dysphagia? To avoid common mishaps, take a minute to review my “Novice Essentials” page before you begin!(https://dinnertimewithdysphagia.wordpress.com/novice-essentials/

1. Pour plain olive oil into a small frying pan and place on medium high heat for 1 minute. Turn off the pan and tilt to spread around the oil, then immediately add the onions and reheat on the lowest possible setting. Spread out the onions and monitor carefully for the first five minutes to avoid burning (temporarily turning off the heat if needed), stirring/flipping onions frequently. Keep onions on the lowest possible heat setting for an additional 25-30 minutes thereafter, stirring/flipping no more than once every five minutes as they slowly caramelize.

2. While the onions cook, place the zucchini in a pot with the vegetable broth and basil oil. DO NOT place any pesto in the pot. Cover and heat on medium high. Once you hear boiling, turn down the heat to a high simmer temperature (about a 3 or 4 on a 10-setting stove) until the zucchini is translucent and tender (easily pierced through by a fork).

3. Let the onions and zucchini cool, then place together in a blender. If you’re using basil pesto, add it to the blender too. Blend on a high setting for 1 minute.

4. Pour contents over a fine mesh strainer into a container or serving bowl. Any leftover content in the strainer can be thrown out (or enjoyed by someone without dysphagia!).

Cheese pairing: This would go well with SO many different cheeses! One wonderful option is soft goat cheese spread. In my experience the quality and flavor varies markedly by brand. Among the best are Nettle Meadow’s Lightly Salted Chevre (https://www.nettlemeadow.com/cheeses/) and any of their other chevres that don’t have little bits (like garlic) that present stickage issues to people with dysphagia, as well as Vermont Creamery’s Spreadable Goat Cheese (https://www.instacart.com/landing?product_id=115844&retailer_id=375&region_id=4451148803&rid=224320233&utm_medium=sem_shopping&utm_source=instacart_google&utm_campaign=ad_demand_shopping_food_ma_boston_newengen&utm_content=accountid-8145171519_campaignid-1753215098_adgroupid-68760990895_device-c&gclid=CjwKCAiA98TxBRBtEiwAVRLquz1mDdDv9i-lJkaZsLmPr6v_04iZYAp5uqMNOdmAiiNfsoLWTOmf_BoCdAgQAvD_BwE). I try to avoid the Chavrie brand goat cheese spread, which just isn’t as tasty, in my opinion. While I haven’t tried making my own spreadable goat cheese, this should work for someone with dysphagia if it’s made in a food processor with a combination of goat cheese, heavy cream, and olive oil. I’ll update with a recipe at some point once I have a chance to try my hand at this!

*Bonus: Basil Pesto Recipe (care of Cedar Spring Herb Farm, slightly modified)

2 cups fresh basil
2 large cloves garlic
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 tbsp freshly grated Pecorino Romano
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/3 cup olive oil
Pinch of salt

Place basil, garlic, grated cheeses, pine nuts, and salt in a food processor. Process for approximately 2 minutes, adding the olive oil intermittently.

February 2019: Capturing the Flavor of Spinach Calzones

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There was no vegetable that I dreaded more as a child than spinach. In my baby book, which featured a bunch of extra pages for recording a little one’s favorite things (favorite movies, favorite foods, etc.), I apparently felt compelled (once I was able to write) to report the following:

spinach

But around the time that I entered middle school, I found myself hooked on one of the specialty dishes at an Italian restaurant that I frequented: escarole sautéed in oil and garlic. Somehow, through the magic of that oil and garlic, my aversion to bitter leafy greens faded, and I would soon acquire a taste (or at least a tolerance, at first) for spinach.

Years later, when my college boyfriend (now husband) took me to meet his family over a Shabbat dinner, his mom prepared homemade spinach calzones, a staple special occasion meal in their household, and they soon became one of my favorites as well. Almost twenty years later, my husband and sister-in-law continue to make these calzones when we come together for special, celebratory family gatherings. The following soup tries to capture the essence of that recipe—no ricotta, no flour, but spinach, butter flavored by sautéed onions, and a little honey. It’s surprisingly quick to make, hearty, and satisfying. I think it’s best when served warm or cool, but not steaming hot. Enjoy!

Spinach Calzone Soup

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Yield: Approximately 8 cups

Ingredients:

-Three 8 oz. bags of baby spinach (equal to 16 cups of uncooked baby spinach)
-5 cups of vegetable broth (I use 5 teaspoons of Better than Bouillon Reduced Sodium Vegetable Base and 5 cups of water)
-¼ teaspoon honey (if you need to make this vegan, you can substitute brown sugar)
-1 cup yellow onion, chopped
-4 tablespoons butter (Cabot and Kerrygold are amazing dairy options; if you need this to be pareve/vegan, the vegan version of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter is the best alternative I’ve ever tried)

Instructions:

*Is this your first time preparing a soup for someone with dysphagia? To avoid common mishaps, take a minute to review my “Novice Essentials” page before you begin!(https://dinnertimewithdysphagia.wordpress.com/novice-essentials/)

1. Place baby spinach, broth, and honey together in a pot or dutch oven. COVER the pot (essential) and let spinach cook until it’s very soft and uniformly dark green in color.

2. While the spinach is cooking, saute the chopped onions in the butter until they brown. Remove onions from the butter (they served to flavor the butter and can now be discarded or used for a different meal). Place the butter ONLY into the pot (fine to do it during or after the spinach cooks).

3. Let the contents of the pot cool, then blend on a high setting for 1-2 minutes.

Cheese pairing: The sweet flavor of Regal de Bourgogne aux Raisins is a perfect complement to the slight bitterness of the spinach.  

January 2019: Zucchini, In Essence

Zucchini 2

For many years, simple zucchini dinners were mainstays for me and my husband. Our table was graced at least once a week in the winter by a savory zucchini pie, caramelized zucchini, zucchini alla parmigiana, or my grandmother’s zucchini pudding.

One of the things I miss the most with dysphagia is being able to eat roasted or sautéed vegetables unadulterated by anything other than a little olive oil or garlic. This is the case with zucchini most of all. As such, chancing upon a soup recipe that offers the essence of a vegetable is a true delight.

This recipe, which does just that, came as a wonderful surprise and gift from Elisabeth at one of our recent crafting nights. It’s light and flavorful (the Better than Bouillon Roasted Vegetable base enhances the zucchini beautifully), incredibly healthy and low in calories, and perfect for warming the soul on a cold night.

Zucchini B

Simple Zucchini Soup

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Yield: Approximately 8 cups

Ingredients:
2 ½ teaspoons Better than Bouillon Reduced Sodium Vegetable Base

2 ½ cups water
3 pounds (48 ounces) zucchini, peeled and chopped into rounds

*If you prefer not to use the Better than Bouillon, you can replace it and the water with 2 ½ cups of your favorite low sodium vegetable broth

Instructions:

*Is this your first time preparing a soup for someone with dysphagia? To avoid common mishaps, take a minute to review my “Novice Essentials” page before you begin!(https://dinnertimewithdysphagia.wordpress.com/novice-essentials/

1. Place zucchini, water, and bouillon paste into a pot.

2. Cover pot (this is essential) and heat on stove at a medium temperature until the zucchini is translucent and tender (easily pierced through by a fork).

3. Let the zucchini and broth cool, then place together in a blender. Blend on a high setting for 1 minute.

4. Pour contents over a fine mesh strainer into a container or serving bowl. Any leftover content in the strainer can be thrown out (or enjoyed by someone without dysphagia!).

Cheese pairing: Normally I’m not the biggest fan of Laughing Cow cheese, but it’s surprisingly delicious melted (or semi-melted) into the soup. I usually serve it alongside the soup so people can put in as much as they like and then heat their individual bowls in the microwave if they want it fully melted. The plain flavor has been my go-to, but I suspect the garlic and herb variety (no actual pieces of garlic or herbs, just flavor) would be very tasty too.

December 2018: My Go-To Winter Soup

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Cauliflower soup has been one of my favorite cold-weather meals for as long as I can remember. My dear friend Jean gifted me Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Every Day when it first came out in 2011, and in subsequent winters, I incessantly churned out her delicious version of this soup. As my dysphagia progressed, I realized that I would have to find a new go-to recipe, as hers was potato-heavy, and potatoes are almost impossible for me to eat in any form now.

After months of experimentation with sub-par cauliflower soups, I chanced upon one from America’s Test Kitchen. I made the slightest of dysphagia-related modifications, and was amazed by the delicious, rich soup that emerged, reminiscent of a cauliflower soup that I had in Paris years ago. I was stunned to learn, care of the chefs who produced the original recipe, that water brings out the flavor of cauliflower far better than broth (which tends to overpower it). Indeed, I don’t ever think I’ll use broth with cauliflower again.

I especially like to make this soup during Hanukkah because it’s the closest I’ve been able to come to enjoying an actual latke without the discomfort of stickage (although I generally do indulge in one or two small, carefully made latkes this time of year, stickage be damned). The combination of the leeks, onions, cauliflower and olive oil in this soup produces a similarly rich and earthy flavor, satisfying my craving for (additional) latkes just when I need it most.

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Simple Cauliflower Soup

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Yield: Approximately 8 cups

Ingredients:
¼ cup leeks (white part only, carefully washed), chopped
¼ cup onion, chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil or butter (I generally do some of each)
1 ¼ teaspoon salt
3 10-oz. bags of cauliflower (30 ozs. from a head, leaves carefully removed, works too)
5 cups water

Instructions:

*Is this your first time preparing a soup for someone with dysphagia? To avoid common mishaps, take a minute to review my “Novice Essentials” page before you begin!(https://dinnertimewithdysphagia.wordpress.com/novice-essentials/

1. Place leeks, onion, olive oil and/or butter, and salt in a pot or dutch oven. Saute on low heat until onions are translucent and gently browned.

2. Add water and cauliflower.

3. Keeping the pot uncovered (this is essential), turn up the heat to medium high or high and cook until cauliflower are very tender (easily pierced through with a fork), approximately 15-20 minutes. Monitor frequently after the 15 minute mark, turning off the heat as soon as the cauliflower are very tender (this will help ensure that the right amount of liquid is left).

4. Let cool, then pour the entire mixture into a blender and blend on a high setting for 1-2 minutes.

5. Pour contents over a fine mesh strainer into a container or serving bowl. Any leftover content in the strainer can be thrown out (or enjoyed by someone without dysphagia!).

Note: This soup is amazing unadulterated; for a change of pace or extra special treat, I add a dollop of sour cream topped with sour cream and onion powder (https://www.amazon.com/Gourmet-Fries-Seasonings-Bottle-Cream/dp/B005SSM778/ref=sxin_0_ac_d_rm?ac_md=0-0-c291ciBjcmVhbSBhbmQgb25pb24gcG93ZGVy-ac_d_rm&cv_ct_cx=sour+cream+and+onion+powder&keywords=sour+cream+and+onion+powder&pd_rd_i=B005SSM778&pd_rd_r=c4a99940-bfdf-4792-9907-089c65eda537&pd_rd_w=pg72Z&pd_rd_wg=osdP5&pf_rd_p=de19e82a-2d83-4ae8-9f5c-212586b8b9a0&pf_rd_r=ZCY412FSH2CGND9F9NJA&psc=1&qid=1581205405&sr=1-1-12d4272d-8adb-4121-8624-135149aa9081). Also, I recommend serving this soup warm, not steaming hot.

Cheese pairing: In lieu of serving this with a soft cheese, I often do a side of Severino Pasta Company’s Mac & Cheese Sauce (available in many Whole Foods) that can be drizzled onto the soup (see the drizzled heart in the photo above). It’s always a tradeoff because the soup is so incredibly tasty on its own. You can also make your own dysphagia-friendly cheddar cheese sauce by whisking together a scant ¼ cup of dried cheddar cheese powder, 3 tbsp. milk, and 2 tbsp. unsalted butter over low heat.

NOVEMBER 2018: Welcome and Celebrating the Fall Harvest!

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Welcome to the very first Dinnertime with Dysphagia post! To learn more about my story and the experiences that have inspired me to produce this blog, the audiences I hope it might reach, and my goals for it, please visit the “About” page of this website! You’ll find the first monthly soup recipe and cheese pairing at the end of this post. This month’s dessert recipe can be found on the “Dessert” page.

Yesterday, my friend Elisabeth and I went to the last Brookline Farmers’ Market of the season. This farmers’ market has been a part of my life for over a decade — when my husband and I got married, our caterer worked with one of the local vendors (Smith’s Country Cheese, https://www.smithscountrycheese.com/) to ensure that their onion and chive gouda spread (a staple in our home for many years) was at every table for the first course of our dinner. This fall, I’ve had the joy of seeing the farmers’ market through very fresh eyes, on two counts.

First, for the longest time, following much experimentation, it appeared that my brand of dysphagia made the consumption of root vegetables in a pureed soup form (much less in a roasted form) completely impossible. A chance purchase while waiting for a flight back to Boston from Chicago this summer showed me that I had not exhausted all the possible avenues.

Feeling rather unexcited by the food I’d packed for myself (travel generally necessitates an unusual level of dietary monotony for someone with dysphagia, at least in my experience), I took to strolling around the different food places in the airport, in a quest to see if I could find something, anything, that would be remotely possible for me to consume. A pureed butternut squash soup at Wolfgang Puck Express caught my eye. I knew that even a single bite was apt to get stuck, but since I’m fortunate enough to not be at risk for anything other than discomfort when eating something of this nature, I splurged on a cup of it, expecting to have just a little taste, and to then turn it over to my husband.

I took a bite. NO STICKAGE. Unbelievable. How was that possible?! I took another bite, and another. Still no stickage. I finished the entire cup within minutes, and searched for the recipe when I arrived home. I followed the directions precisely, and realized that a prolonged boiling process could enable me to eat this vegetable (as well as a few others of the “root” variety) that hadn’t been in my diet for two and a half years. How did I not figure this out sooner?! As such, this year’s farmers’ market has been especially joyous for me because I now feel this special, renewed connection to so many more of the foods on display than in previous years.

This season’s farmers’ market has also been a very special one for me because I’ve been able to see it through my friend Elisabeth’s eyes. Elisabeth is from Paris, and this is her first fall in the United States. I’ve had the gift of enjoying the farmers’ markets in Paris and in the villages of Provence on several occasions, and as much as I adore Boston, I couldn’t imagine that our local farmers’ markets had anything on the ones in France. And then, with my friend’s help, I realized that we might have something here in New England that Paris doesn’t in the fall: SO MANY DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF SQUASH!!!

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Our weekly trips to the farmers’ market together have included a great deal of gawking enchantedly at the different squashes, with their vibrant and varied colors and shapes, and Elisabeth has purchased and experimented with some of the more exotic ones, including this Georgia Candy Roaster:

Georgia candy roaster.jpg

I’ve thought quite a bit during these farmers’ market trips about what my first recipe should be for this blog. I’ve decided to go with a butternut squash recipe (not the Wolfgang Puck one, though you can find it online, and sometime in the future I’ll provide my modified version in a post). The recipe I’m offering here is one that’s been in my repertoire for over a decade. I have fond memories of making it for dinner parties in earlier years (sans the boiling), and serving it once to a group that I crafted with in another city quite a long time ago. It’s hearty and flavorful, and while there’s no guarantee that everyone with dysphagia will be able to consume it comfortably (if you’re a host who wants to make this or other recipes from this blog for a dinner party that includes an individual with dysphagia, always have them look over the proposed recipe beforehand  so they can provide input as to whether it’s likely that they’ll be able to eat it), the boiling process should make this workable for just about everyone with severe (only able to have foods in liquid form) dysphagia. As with all the soups I’ll post here, I would enthusiastically serve this to a group coming for dinner that wasn’t affected by dysphagia.

Elisabeth fittingly served as my first taste tester (in order to gauge whether someone with a discriminating palate, sans dysphagia, would find this tasty), and under the threat of severe penalty for dishonesty, she gave the soup a rating of 8.5 on a scale from 0-10. You can be the judge as well–leaving ratings in the comments section should be helpful to others who want to know if this is worth making!

Soup

Butternut Squash Soup with Saint Andre Cheese

Butternut Squash Soup

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Yield: Approximately 6 cups

Ingredients:
2 pounds butternut squash, pre-peeled and pre-seeded

1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
1 large chopped garlic clove
1 tablespoon PLUS 1 teaspoon olive oil (fine to add more if you like)
1/4 cup apple cider (if you can, splurge on one from a local farm!)
4 cups vegetable broth (I use College Inn Low Sodium, purchased online from Target)
1 cup water
Sour cream for dolloping (optional)

(Now, if you have dysphagia, the first thing you may be thinking as you’re looking at this recipe is that onions are impossible! But I’ve found that if the ratio between the onions and the main vegetable in the soup is 1:4 or lower, it’s not a problem. If you don’t have dysphagia, keep in mind as you make this recipe that in order to best ensure that an individual with dysphagia will be able to eat it, no modifications should be made unless s/he tells you it’s okay (i.e. don’t cut back on the liquid ingredient measurements, add fresh herbs, or skip the essential pureeing in Step 3 for increased efficiency, etc.), as any such changes could make it very difficult for that person to eat it. See my Novice Essentials page if this is your first time preparing a soup (https://dinnertimewithdysphagia.wordpress.com/novice-essentials/) for more details that may help you avoid common mishaps.)

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place the squash in a baking pan (I use a  9″x9″x2″), and then fill the pan about 1/3 of the way up with water. Cover with aluminum foil, and bake for an hour, then remove and let cool, reserving 1/4 cup for possible later use. (I usually do this step the night before I plan to make the soup.)

2. Chop the onions and garlic, and saute them in the olive oil (I do this in a dutch oven of 5.5 quarts) on low heat until translucent, about 10-15 minutes.

3. While the onions and garlic are cooking, fully puree the butternut squash in a blender (it’s best to use a regular blender here rather than a stick, which is less thorough and often less powerful too). If it’s not pureeing fully on any of your settings, try adding in 1/8 cup of water at a time (drawing on the reserved water from Step 1 first) and stirring the mixture each time before you try pureeing again. Once finished, put the puree aside briefly.

4. Add the apple cider to the onions and garlic in your dutch oven or soup pot, followed by the pureed squash, the water, and the vegetable broth. Turn up the heat so that the soup will come to a boil, and continue to boil on a medium to high setting (just take care that it doesn’t burn) for 20-25 minutes, stirring periodically. (If you see the soup begin to thicken around the 20 minute mark–you’ll see a difference in how it’s sticking to the stirring spoon–turn off the heat. Otherwise, give it another few minutes.)

5. Let cool, then place in a blender (do not use a stick blender) for 1-2 minutes on a high setting. Be sure that the onion and garlic pieces are completely invisible/absorbed before finishing.

Notes: This soup is delicious at all temperatures, and on a cold fall day, it can be served as a dinner meal all by itself. If it’s too thick for you, adding a bit of water and microwaving for 20 seconds or so should solve the problem, with very little change to the underlying flavor. (If you don’t want to water the soup itself down at all, taking sips of water between bites should also do the trick.) Along with the optional sour cream dollop, sour cream and onion seasoning powder and/or cheddar seasoning powder (both available through Amazon) are nice to have on hand as additions that people with or without dysphagia can opt to use, as are chopped chives for guests who don’t have dysphagia, and toasted bread with margarine on the side (again, for people who don’t have dysphagia). That said, if you use an egg bread, like brioche or challah, someone who isn’t at risk of aspiration (you can Google it) might even choose to have a bite if it’s toasted to a very dark brown/black (this is a “stretch” food for me, which means it sticks a bit, but only for a few hours; for someone with less severe dysphagia, it might not stick at all.) Also, a final caution: Do not freeze prior to serving, as the defrosted product may have a noticeably different texture that won’t work for some people with dysphagia.

Cheese pairing: Saint Andre cheese (with the rind removed) is something I can eat with absolutely no stickage. I hope you have the same experience! The creamy, buttery texture and savory flavor complements the moderately sweet taste of the soup (care of the apple cider) beautifully. (In theory, cheddar would be a very natural pairing, but it’s too dry for most people with severe dysphagia, and I cannot in good conscience recommend spreadable cheddars.) If your table will include individuals with and without dysphagia, you might consider offering Saint Andre and a nice cheddar!