point of the day: squash

Today YesterdayI bought a Kakai (or Styrian) pumpkin from my friends Sandi and Ed Taylor, at Honey Wagon Farms near Picton. They take many a squash (and other veggies & herbs all grown without chemicals…plus their superb Maple Syrup) to the Kingston Public Market on Saturdays.Despite having their biggest days of the year around Thanksgiving, they still have a ton of squash for sale at their roadside stand. Take a look here and see Ed and Sandi’s portrait that was part of Mile Murtanovski’s exhibition at Angeline’s Restaurant called “Field to Canvas”, featuring 16 local farmers.(Mile and Kritsa Dalby run the nearby art-hub and artist residency called Small Pond Arts).

The dark green seeds of the Kakai have no hulls (nice!!) and are esteemed in Eastern Europe…especially Styria, Austria, where a delicious, nutty tasting pumpkin seed oil is made. The health benefits from its Omega-3 fatty acids are quite astounding! and it’s delicious. So I was excited to try cooking a Kakai pumpkin in a hearty soup to go with the pumkin seed oil I already had in my fridge.

I roasted the seeds with a little sea salt for about 25 minutes, beside the halved pumpkin while it was baking until soft…a nice way to warm up the house on a damp Fall day.

The cooked pumpkin ended up as a velvety pureed soup made with with sauteed carrot, garlic, shallot, fresh ginger, celery, pears and apple, a teaspoon of peanut butter (since I’m out of tahina), a dash of light cream…seasoned with allspice, cinnamon, cardamom, maple syrup and rice vinegar.  I topped each bowl with a drizzle of Pumpkin Seed Oil and the toasted seeds. The flavour of the fruit and gentle squash really came through! with a plump smoothness in texture. I’ll make it again….but a bigger batch next time.Nice day, nice soup. (The imported Pumkin Seed Oil I used was bought at this County Farm Centre in Picton).