So, I always tell people I live in the clouds, which is true in a symbolic way but also in a physical way. Every year around this time the clouds really start to envelop us, swallow us up into their dreamy wisps, transport us to the land of long sleeps and somber walks through the misty forest. It’s nice to have a welcoming bowl of soup when you get home. That’s about all one can do in a land of clouds, dream, eat soup, play music, watch endless lost episodes on netflix (guilty) and eat more soup, okay and maybe some of that freakin’ amazing organic chocolate ice cream.
There’s something in me that waits for these short days and long nights, it is renewing in its way and brings a certain sense of retreat, but that it’s ok. We wrap ourselves in comfort foods and find that green stuff is at a major lack. Next year I’m going to try and build up some cold boxes to grow kale and hardy greens into the winter. I dislike buying greens from California or farther, the amount of energy it takes to get them here as opposed to what they give, it’s just heinous. Not to mention food prices are soaring, a woman in our area wrote a book on sustainable small town food dynamics and it’s distributed to food cupboards all over the place. The comparative living expenses and food cost in this area of BC (and most of Canada, likely) is akin to that of a third world country, not what most consider one of the richest nations in the world to be experiencing in their rural communities. Luckily there are a lot of amazing farmers who sell their produce at very fair prices and grow their food with love.
Squash is one of my favourite soup additions come winter, it’s loaded with vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, B vitamins and loads of essential minerals. It’s rich and creamy texture is welcomed warmly and paired with rich nutty brown butter and nutrient dense sweet potato topped with crispy bacon, it all makes for a mightily fulfilling meal.
- 1 acorn or other variety of firm squash, cubed
- 1 sweet potato, cut into chunks
- 1 onion, cut into chunks
- 4 cloves garlic, left whole
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary, destemmed and roughly chopped
- 1 Tbs melted bacon fat or oil of choice
- ¼ C butter
- 6 C chicken or vegetable stock
- ½ tsp sea salt
- fresh cracked pepper
- 6 slices of bacon, chopped
- Preheat oven to 400F
- In a large bowl combine squash, sweet potato, onion, garlic and rosemary, toss with bacon fat or oil until evenly coated and spread onto a baking sheet or roasting pan. Roast for 35-40 minutes.
- In a large pot melt butter on medium and allow it to cook on med-low until the milk solids in the butter turn brown.
- Add your roasted vegetables, stock and salt and pepper and bring to a simmer.
- Heat a heavy pan and add bacon, cover on medium heat and allow bacon to get nice and crispy.
- Puree the soup with an immersion blender or transfer it to your blender until smooth and creamy.
- Serve topped with a dollop of sour cream or coconut cream and a spoonful of crispy bacon.
