Squash, Glorious Squash

I've come to see squash of all kinds as a comfort food in the fall. Its an incredibly versatile ingredient, one that can be used in sweet and savory dishes, can be hidden amongst other ingredients or showcased as a star. The recipes below are some of my new favorites.

Indian-Spiced Roasted Squash Soup
I sent this soup home with a for a friend whose family was ill. She reported back that her three boys (ages from 6-12) gobbled it up.

Ingredients

• 1 Onion, quartered
• 4 carrots, peeled and chopped thickly
• 5 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 acorn squash, quartered
• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped thickly
• olive oil
• Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
  
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/4 tsp cayanne pepper
• 4 C + Chicken Stock
• salt to taste
  
• Greek yogurt, to taste

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 500
• Arrange veggies on a jelly roll pan in a single layer
• Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper
• Roast for 30 minutes, until veggies are tender turning once
• Cool
• Peel squash and discard skins and any other burned items
• Puree veggie mixture in food processor, adding chicken stock as needed to keep mixture moving
• When the mixture is at the desired consistency, scrape it into a large saucepan
  
• Add spices and more stock to thin the mixture out; bring to a boil
• Add scoops of greek yogurt and salt to taste
• Serve (you may want to puree further using an immersion blender for a totally smooth consistency)
  

Smokey Beef and Squash Chili
Clint had a grand old time making the Chili over our fire-pit on Sunday afternoon. Needless to say, cooking over a fire-pit is not a "must have" element to this dish. Simmering over the stove for a number of hours will do just fine.

Ingredients

• Canola Oil
• 1 1/2 + lbs chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• smoked salt, or salt + liquid smoke
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 2 Tbl tomato paste
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can diced green chiles
  
• 1 Bottle Beer
• Beef Stock, as needed
  
• Dash Cayenne Pepper
  
• Handful of Oregano
• Dash of Red Chili Flakes
• Handful of cumin
• Pinch coriander
• Pinch cinnamon
• 1 28 oz can of whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 15 oz can of Kidney Beans, rinsed

Directions

• Heath dutch oven, add 2 turns of oil
• Sprinkle beef with salt and add to pan; saute until browned on all sides; remove beef
• Add onion and bell pepper to pan, saute 3 min.
• Add tomato paste, garlic and green chilies to pan, stirring constantly
• Add beer and beef stock as needed and bring to boil; cook 2 minutes; return beef to pan
• Stir in spices and rest of ingredient through beans; bring to a boil
• Cover and reduce heat to medium and simmer for 1 hour or until beef is tender
• Top with cheddar cheese and sour cream