Hubbard Squash

[digitS']

James,

You need to be careful . .

. with . .

. the sugar.

Thought I'd say the pepper, eh? No, peppers are a good choice, and the cream keeps it partially under control. I'm not sure how many of us like "sweet" soup and the squash is somewhat sweet to begin with! Adding an apple is almost a step too far.

Chicken broth? Almost NO bones get out of this house without being boiled first. I'll even do it for a couple of drumsticks in a sauce pan - just keep the heat real low & a timer is my friend . The secret of my soup success.

TheWaterBug, I was raised in a household where pork was not eaten. I hardly have an opinion to share. ~
~ Oh wait! I often use bacon when sauteing the onions!

Steve

[rainbowgardener]

I'm vegetarian so no chicken/ bones/ broth. But every time I cook, I simmer up all the onion peels, potato peels, garlic skins, etc etc in to soup stock. Vegetarian soups can be a little bland and watery with out really good stock to base it on, which I always have on hand. I just keep it in a lidded jar in the frig. If I haven't used it by the next time I cook veggies, I just add the new veggie scraps and some extra water in with the stock and simmer again. That way it keeps getting richer and richer.

[DoubleDogFarm]

Oh Yum. Compost tea.

Eric

[digitS']

What about the use of agar in vegetable broth, RainbowGardener?

I was the kid who used to show up at the Chinese restaurant and order seaweed soup . My friend's family had a restaurant by the time I was in high school. (Actually, the girl who sat beside me in junior high English, and held me spellbound - her family worked at a Chinese restaurant. But, that's another story .)

Anyway, the seaweed soup wasn't vegetarian but I came to the idea that the "vegetable gelatine" in the weed may have been one of the reasons I liked it. I've had it in desserts since.

Steve

[applestar]

Haha, Eric. But I think rainbowgardener has the right idea -- According to a "secrets of specialty Asian noodle soup shops revealed" book that's exactly what the chefs do to make the "secret recipe" soup base -- add the stock ingredients to what's left of the previous batch. If by chance they run out of the previous batch, the resulting stock doesn't turn out the same and they say their regular customers notice.

In Japanese cuisine, kelp broth -- konbu -- is a key ingredient in soup base/stock. Also dried anchovies and shaved dried bonito/(I think) skipjack tuna. I don't know if they use the same in Chinese -- Chinese basic soup stock often starts with chicken/pork scallions and ginger.

[ReptileAddiction]

Oh Yum. Compost tea.

Eric

This made me crack up when I read it.

[TheWaterbug]

TG is coming up; I suppose can make soup and pie with it.

This might be another good opportunity to use the katana

So mine weighed in just under 15 lbs, and we did open it using the katana:
[youtudotbe]https://youtu.be/y0q8qymCn5s[/youtudotbe]

Cubing it up and skinning it took quite a bit of work. I don't have a big enough kitchen to swing the katana indoors , so I used a Chinese cleaver, which worked pretty well.

It's pretty tasty, but not too distinctly different from the butternut, at least not eaten a week apart.

I made soup and pie for TG dinner, but I have a bag of cubes left over. Maybe tomorrow I'll open up a butternut and kabocha and do a side-by-side comparison.

[TheWaterbug]

I finally did get around to eating all three. The kabocha was far and away my favorite; it had the most intense flavor and the smoothest texture.

The particular butternut I ate was a bit of a disappointment; it was a bit stringy and weak in flavor. Previous butternuts from the same vine were much better.

The Hubbard was great in the soup and in the pie, but also a bit weak when just roasted and eaten.

So next year I'll grow butternut and kabocha for sure, and maybe one other if I have space and interest.

[digitS']

The Kabocha is delish!

However, the days-to-maturity ratings on winter squash seem to have little basis in reality in my garden. I think they just don't like the cool summer nights after the cool months of June . . . . I'm not planning on giving up on the Kabochas, tho'.

I learned how to deal with the bland taste of the jack o'lantern pumpkins. These were not "sugar pumpkins" or some other meant for eating. They were meant for jack o'lanterns . Anyway, slow roasting them at about 250°f for a couple hours seemed important. Then, after the meat was run thru the food processor, they sat in a colander and dripped (& dripped, & dripped . . .) for several hours. THEN, I had good pie for Thanksgiving! All on advice from cooks better than me .

Steve

[jal_ut]

In this country at least, it is well to hold those winter squash for a month or six weeks to finish ripening. They get much sweeter with a little time.