New Kitchen, Back to Cooking – Acorn Squash Soup with Cranberry Sauce

I am happy to say that I’m back in the kitchen! I even have enough boxes unpacked to cook an entire meal. I was so excited when I found my Kitchen Aid mixer that I had to announce it on Twitter. I got all kinds of friendly responses.

I tend to spend a good amount of time just staring at my stove with a big smile of contentment on my face. It is actually the exact same model as I had in our house before our move abroad, but now it is like a brand new toy.

I’m just so darn excited here is a picture for you.

Last week I spent some time shopping around for the ingredients that I know I want to cook and bake with. I haven’t been able to find mascavo sugar here, or the exact equivalent, but I did end up trying out demerara sugar, which is unrefined sugar made from evaporated cane juice. The sources I’ve found so far state that it is the same, or very similar to, turbinado sugar.

It is a different consistency than the mascavo sugar I used in Brazil as it has much larger crystals. I know I can order the mascavo online so we’ll see how the demerara does in baking to decide which I like better. For coffee, it works great. (I’m trying to wean myself off adding sugar to my coffee, but I do still like it a little bit sweet. )

Along with my sugar I picked up some fresh cranberries which just happen to be one of my favorite parts of this time of year. I’ll be buying more soon to freeze for later use. I also grabbed an acorn squash. My parents tell me that they have plenty of squash and pumpkin for me at home from the garden, but I just couldn’t wait.

Finally, I found a great deal on grapefruit. After paying about 1 USD each for imported ones which would show up in the Asian market where we lived in Brazil, I gladly handed over $2.50 for a whole bag.

I decided to make a soup with it all this weekend incorporating turkey day flavors, of course. When it comes to Thanksgiving flavors I tend to like them combined in any way possible. I’ll take cranberry sauce on just about anything, add in turkey to my squash side dishes and eat walnuts or pecans on my sweet potatoes.

I’ll admit that this recipe may not be too terribly exciting and is very similar to a butternut squash soup I make regularly. There seem to be a lot of similar recipes out there on the web this time of year as well.

However, it is the first official recipe and meal to come out of my new kitchen so that alone makes is special.

Acorn Squash & Apple Soup with Cranberry Grapefruit Sauce

1 tbsp olive oil
1 large carrot, chopped
¼ cup onion
2 cloves garlic minced
1 medium apple, chopped
¼ tsp ginger
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp demerara sugar (or any type of unrefined cane sugar)
2 cups chicken stock
Flesh of one acorn squash, roasted (about 1 ½ to 2 cups)
¼ cup milk or cream
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper

In your soup pot, heat the olive oil, then add the carrot, onion, garlic and apple. Cook on medium heat for about 7 minutes, stirring often. Add in the ginger, cinnamon and sugar and stir to coat the veggies and fruit. Pour in the chicken stock, cover the pot and simmer until the veggies and fruit are tender, about 10 minutes. (This is a good time to make the cranberry sauce.)

Next, stir in the squash until it is smooth and well incorporated. Remove the pot from heat and blend all ingredients using an immersion blender. You can also transfer the soup and blend in a standard blender. I leave mine a little chunky, but you can make it as smooth as you like.

Return to low heat and slowly stir in the milk or cream. Add more or less to reach your desired soup consistency and heat through. Salt and pepper to your taste.

Cranberry Grapefruit Sauce

1 cup fresh cranberries
¼ cup grapefruit juice
2 tsp demerara sugar
Chopped, toasted walnuts for garnish

Combine the cranberries and juice in a small sauce pan and cook on medium heat. Add in the sugar and stir until the cranberries burst. Allow the sauce to thicken to your desired consistency. It gets thicker as it cools. You might also want to add more sugar if you don’t prefer your cranberry sauce tart.

Ladle your soup into bowls. The recipe makes 2 to 3 servings. Top with some cranberry sauce and sprinkle with toasted walnuts.