Homemade, Cultured Butternut Squash Soup

This recipe is amazing and perfect for those of you on the GAPS Diet!  Just as Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride recommends in her book, Gut and Psychology Syndrome,  this soup is enhanced with probiotic food. Cultured cream is not only good for your digestive health, but it gives this soup an added richness.  Make this soup with homemade chicken broth and it's a perfect cold-weather meal, chock-full of nutrition!

I found some yummy organic butternut squash at my local grocery yesterday- on sale!  And since soup/stew is one of my favorite wintertime (or anytime) foods, I knew just what to do with it :)

Butter and season the squash before roasting.

To bring out the flavor of butternut squash, what better way to cook it than roasting it?  Before putting your soup together, this is what you need to do:
1. Cut a butternut squash in half, lengthwise. Discard seeds.
2. Place, open side up, onto baking sheet and smear with butter (about 1/2 T per half)
3. Season generously with salt and pepper.
4. Roast on 425 F for about an hour, until the skin is blistered and the open side is browned.

The squash browned nicely!

To make the soup, you will need:
1 butternut squash, roasted (directions above)
1 T butter, or ghee
1/2 granny smith apple,cut in small cubes
1/4 onion, minced
2 1/2 c homemade chicken stock
a large dollop cultured cream for each bowl
salt and pepper

Once the squash is roasted, set it aside to cool somewhat.  Melt 1 T butter in a heavy pan and sauté  the apple and onion until soft.  Scoop out meat from squash skins and add this to the apple/onion mixture.  Add in your homemade chicken stock and stir to combine.  Heat to a low simmer and cook for 15 minutes.  Adjust seasonings to your liking.  Using a stick blender, purée soup in the cooking pot until creamy.

Saute the apple and onion in butter or ghee.

Mix in the homemade chicken stock and roasted squash.

When the soup is done, let it cool to at least 117 F.  You don't want to kill all the good probiotics in your cultured cream.  Serve the soup with a dollop of cultured cream in each bowl.

The perfect cold-weather soup!

This soup was meant for a cold winter day!  Enjoy!

Homemade, Crock Pot Chicken Stock

It's been a long time since I last posted something, BUT I have a good excuse!  For the past few months, my family has been prepping for a big move- to Colorado!  Well, we are finally here.  And, I am ready to start some new and exciting projects/experiments.  For one, I have to replenish ALL of my cultures... yes, I left them in Florida.  But, they are in good hands and being cared for :)

So far, I have started a new sourdough starter, and I am working on a new SCOBY for kombucha. (Here is the link for my sourdough starter, if you haven't seen it yet!)  Since sourdough is different everywhere, I am really excited to start using it next week!  As for the SCOBY, it is still developing... very slowly.  More to come on that...

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My first project will be to replenish my freezer with homemade stocks!  I've had friends tell me how good my beef stock is... so, I've decided to demonstrate my crock pot chicken stock as well! 

You have probably bought chicken stock/broth at the store to make homemade soups and sauces, right?  Well, what was the consistency?  Did you read the label?  What about MSG?  Your mind will be blown if you just take the time to look at what is in store-bought stock... BUT, making your own chicken stock is so easy!   Not to mention how delicious it is in homemade soups, sauces and rice dishes :)  

If you use a crock pot, like me, you don't have to worry about a leaving a burner on all night.  It is also easier to control the temperature of your stock!  Back in the day (before electric stoves), women used to put their stock pot on the back of the stove- that was the place that stayed warm but not too hot- so that their stock would be hot but not boil.  For them, just knocking the fire down was enough to keep the stove at the right temperature.  Fast forward to the modern-day wonder- the crock pot! 

First, to make chicken stock, you need a chicken carcass or two and all the skin and left-over parts that didn't get picked from the bones.  Don't be stingy, throw it all in!  I even throw in the juices that are left after making my French roast chicken.  This time, I made two roast chickens and put all the unused parts into my large crock pot.

Fill the crock up so that all the bones will be covered and add a couple T apple cider vinegar to help draw out all the good minerals.  After about 30 minutes, turn the crock pot on high.  This will bring your stock to a simmer.  At this time, you need to keep a pretty good watch over it so that you can scoop out and discard any foam that rises to the top.  After scooping, you can add carrots, onions or garlic and some pepper corns (or leave plain to season later).

Turn your crock pot down to "warm".  My crock pot still allows the stock to "gurgle"- not quite a simmer, but with an occasional bubble.  If your warm setting doesn't seem warm enough, just set it on "low".  Now comes the waiting... I usually start my stock after dinner one night and strain it off after dinner the next night.  That way, it is "gurgling" for about 24 hours.  You can stop yours anywhere between 12 and 24 hours.  The longer it cooks, the stronger the flavors will be!

When you strain off your stock, place the liquid into cold storage overnight.  I placed mine in our sun room because it got down in the 20's last night!  And the above picture is what I found this morning- a beautiful layer of congealed fat on top of a wonderfully-gelled stock!  

You can discard this layer of fat or keep all or part of it in your stock.  I like keeping at least half of it, since it is not nearly as greasy as beef stock fat.  This stock goes into my 2-cup containers and then I pop them in the freezer!  This time, my son is begging for chicken and dumplings, so I can't put it all away :)

Have a wonderful Christmas holiday and may all your stocks gel!  Enjoy!

Homemade Beef Stock

This is not your typical grocery store stock! The stock that you find in the store will be loaded with MSG and other unwanted additives... and it will be watery with very little nutritional value.

On the other hand, homemade stock is loaded with nutrition. You control what goes in it (and what doesn't!). And, if you make it right, homemade stock is full of gelatin- just look at the picture. Gelatin is essential for joint health, and may reduce the risk of stomach ulcers.

For my homemade beef stock, I placed in my 7-qt. stock pot:

1 package marrow bones
1 package ox tails
1 package meaty ribs
1 package neck bones
2 calf hooves

I then covered the bones with water (just a couple inches below the lip of the pot), added about 2 T raw apple cider vinegar, and let it sit for 30 minutes.

Next, I brought it all to a boil and spooned out the foam that came to the top. After that, I added 1 med. onion (roughly chopped), a couple cloves of garlic, four carrots (roughly chopped), and about 1t pepper corns and 1t sea salt. You can adjust the seasonings to your taste.

Now comes the waiting! Turn down the heat to a low simmer, cover your pot, and let the stock cook for 24-72 hours. The longer you let it cook, the stronger the flavor and the darker the color.

When the stock is done to your liking, strain off the chunky stuff and store in the fridge overnight. In the morning, spoon off the fat that has congealed on the surface. I fed the fat to my chickens and they loved it!

Now, the stock is ready for storage- it will keep for days in the fridge, or for months in the freezer. Since I always make large batches, I store mine in 2-cup containers in the freezer. Then, it is easy to take out and thaw when I need it! This stock makes great soups, sauces or can replace water in your favorite recipes (rice cooked in stock is delicious!).

Because of the calf's hooves, my stock is loaded with gelatin! My kids took turns twisting the bowl to watch it jiggle :) Enjoy!