Roasted Butternut Squash Soup Bisque & Weekly Mircrogreens Subscription Signup
#42: Winter Happenings @ Featherstone Garden
Welcome to Featherstone’s Winter Happenings Newsletter. Each week we share a rotating variety of garden updates: from heirloom seasonal produce features, to farm fresh subscriptions, veg-ed(ucation) content, plant-centered recipes, community partners, and more. As a subscriber, you will be the first to know all about our Garden Happenings. If you’re not a newsletter subscriber but would like to be, click below to signup.
Get Your Weekly Dose of Microgreens
Introducing microgreens into your diet is a great way to reach the daily amount of vitamins and minerals our bodies crave, and we can help you get there with our weekly subscription! A few simple ways to incorporate greens into your meals is by adding them to salads, tacos, veggie bowls, smoothies, or topped on your favorite winter soups and stews. If you’re on the go, toss a handful of microgreens in a ziplock bag, add a dash of salt & pepper and enjoy them as a mid-day snack!
Our rotation of microgreen varieties vary in taste—from spicy, nutty, earthy, peppery and mild. Microgreens flavor is generally considered to be stronger than your typical salad greens, and they pack a nutritious punch. According to a study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, microgreens can be up 40 times more potent in phytochemicals than their mature counterparts.
When?
Our upcoming 6-Week Microgreens Cycle start on Tuesday, January 25, and ends March 1, 2022.
Please note: We pushed back the start date by one week from the original date we shared in last week’s newsletter.
Pickup Locations
We’re offering pickup only for the upcoming cycle, which will be available at two separate locations:
Featherstone Garden’s Nursery:
➞ 1021 Manistique Street, Detroit, 48215
When?: Every Tuesday from 12-3pm
Metro Variety Store:
➞ 8047 Agnes Street, Detroit, 48214
When?: TBD**Available days/times for pickup at Metro Variety Store will be posted to our website, shared in the upcoming newsletter, and emailed directly to anyone signing up for the upcoming microgreens cycle.
Vegan Roasted Squash, Pepper & Sweet Potato Bisque w/ Crispy Cabbage
By Renee S.
For this recipe, I’m using squash, sweet potatoes and peppers because that’s what I had in my fridge. If you want to simplify the ingredients list, you can do a combined 3 lbs. of squash and sweet potatoes and leave out the peppers. It will be just as good and eliminate an extra step.
Prep note: This soup is meant to be a rich, ultra creamy bisque, which requires a decent blender. I’m using this blendtec, which I’d 100% recommend to anyone looking for a quality blender to splurge on. But any high powered blender will give you the intended results.
Yields: 3 Quarts (approx.)
Ingredients:
1 lb. butternut squash (about 1 squash), cut in half lengthwise and seeds scooped out
1 lb. sweet potatoes (about 2-3 smallish potatoes), peeled and cut in half lengthwise
1 lb. assorted mini peppers (red, yellow, & orange), cut in half with seeds removed (or large peppers cut in strips)
2-4 1/2-inch thick slices of a head of cabbage (purple or green)
1 can (14oz.) full fat coconut milk
4-5 cups of water (depending on how thick you like your soup)
1 large onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
olive oil (or other oil of choice)
1 tablespoon of coconut oil
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground curry
1 tablespoon cumin
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cardamom (optional)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon of salt, plus more to taste
Garnish: toasted pepita seeds (I like toasting mine in truffled olive oil..this is optional but recommended!)
Directions:
Step 1
Preheat oven to 425ºF. Peel sweet potatoes and cut in half lengthwise; cut butternut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds (keep skin on). Evenly coat the sweet potatoes and squash with olive oil (about 2 tablespoon, or more if necessary), sprinkle generously with sea salt and pepper, place cut-side down on a baking sheet and bake for 50 minutes.
After putting your sweet pots & squash in the oven, cut your mini peppers in half with seeds removed, or cut full sized peppers into small strips. In a bowl, drizzle about 1 tablespoon of olive oil on peppers and toss to coat evenly, season generously with salt and pepper (at least 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper). Set aside this pan until you have 30 minutes left on your kitchen timer, then place on the bottom rack.
Step 2
In a large pot on medium-high, heat up 1 tablespoon coconut oil, onions and garlic, season with salt & pepper (about 1 tsp salt / 1/2 tsp pepper), cook until translucent and starting to caramelized (about 6-8 minutes). Once onions/garlic soften and deepen in color, add coconut milk, 4 cups water, brown sugar and spices (curry, cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, cayenne). Bring to a light boil, then turn down and simmer for at least 20 minutes. (Tip: remember, this base will be blended with all the veggies so the flavor will be quite robust, and that’s how it should be!)
Step 3
Once your veggies are finished roasting and your coconut broth is done simmering, allow everything to cool down before blending so it’s easier to handle. Once cooled down, remove the skin from butternut squash, then cut squash and potatoes into smaller chunks. Depending on the size of your blender, you’ll most likely need to blend in batches. While blending each batch: taste, and add more salt, pepper, and/or spices to suit your preferences, and add more water if the consistency seems too thick. I added an additional 1-2 cups of water while blending.
Step 4
Pan-fry your cabbage: Cut head of cabbage in (approx) 1/2” thick slices (about 2 round slices per serving). In a large cast iron skillet or heavy bottomed pan, heat up about 2 tablespoons olive oil. Once hot, place 2 rounds of cabbage down, season with salt & pepper and allow it to cook, undisturbed, for about 6-8 minutes on each side on medium heat. It should be crispy and caramelized on the outsides, and tender on the inside.
To Serve
Sprinkle a spoonful of (optional) toasted pepita seeds on top of your soup & serve with a side of crispy, tender cabbage for a warming winter meal.
Enjoy!
Thanks for reading!
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Have a great week,
Annie, Aaron, Renee, Jessi + Chili & Bean (our farm cats)
