Eating From the Ground Up

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spicy summer squash soup with yogurt and mint

Sunday, August 2, 2009 by alana

Sometimes a day will surprise me.
Today, they just kept coming, the surprises I mean. Sadie’s friend, Aurora slept over last night and after waffles this morning we decided to head up to the Clark Art Institute for their annual overcrowded family day. We had three girls and a rainy (no really) day, so it seemed like a good idea. And it was, in some ways. The whole program was based around their current O’Keefe exhibit, and there were nature collages to make, tortoises to see, and desert flowers to create (although not so vaginal, these flowers). We met up with Rosie’s best friend and her family and everyone had a buddy to make sure that they didn’t get lost in the crowd. But I have to admit to you that although we sometimes make it to these wonderful kid friendly activities, I start to collapse. Crowds of kids make me nervous, and being around so many families can make me overly introspective and therefore useless as a mother. So when Rosie had an unbelievable fit when we tried to convince her to pee before we got in the car, I felt somewhat unprepared. Somehow I emerged from the bathroom, deaf in one ear from her screams, pants barely buttoned, and I was ready to go home. And of course I couldn’t get any pee to come out of that screaming body.
Then there was a lot of whining, requests for movies, for sugar, more whining. I had my head in my hands for longer that I would wish. And all I could think about were messes. What a mess all this was, and I walked into the house, and I started Rosie’s bath because she had almost an entire stick of chapstick in her hair, and I started obsessively cleaning the girls closet. Then the phone rang, and it was my friend Tanya.
“Get down here. Free Cheese.”
Now the backstory on this one was that Rubiners, the local fancy pants agrahip cheese shop of which I have mentioned before, hosted a photo shoot this week. As a result, they had more artisanal cheeses than you could possibly imagine, and they didn’t know what to do with them. So they had a party, and booze money and donations went to support the Railroad Street Youth Project. I knew this was happining, I was thinking about it, and feeling a little sorry for myself that I wasn’t there. But it wasn’t until Tanya called that Joey kicked me out the door. This is how much cheese I ate.

and then I took a small break. and I had a bit more.

It was kind of like a dream. Most of the time, I just looked at all the cheese, happy, and I little drunk off the smell (as well as the wine).
Then Tanya came over and I gave her some of this soup.
I made this last night. It’s the best soup I’ve had since sexy turnip soup. It is also quite sexy. Joey described it as a fresher muligatawny. I think that he’s on to something. But this is what you need to do with all of your summer squash. And I know, I know, I’ll take a break from all of these Alice Waters recipes, I mean, what is this, Alana and Alice? Will we have a cute Brooklyn based novel? Then a movie with Amy Adams? No, I’ll take a break, I promise. But make this one first.

Spicy Summer Squash Soup with Yogurt and Mint
adapted from Alice Waters, The Art of Simple Food

1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion, sliced fine
a pinch of saffron threads
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp chile powder
4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
5-7 medium green or yellow summer squash (mix them if you can), sliced
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
garnish:
4 mint sprigs, leaves only
2 T olive oil
1 cup yogurt
salt
lime wedges

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot. Add the onion, garlic, and spices. Stir often, and cook until the onions are soft and not brown. Add the squash to the pot, then the salt. Cook for 2 minutes, then add the chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until the squash is tender, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, make the garnish: Cut the mint into julienne. Pound half of it in a mortar and pestle. Transfer to a bowl, add the rest of the mint, and stir in the yogurt, olive oil, and some salt. When the squash is tender, let it cool for a few minutes, then puree until smooth. Serve topped with mint yogurt and with lime wedges on the side.

Filed Under: soups, summer squash, yogurt Tagged With: dinner, vegetables, yogurt

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Instagram post 2337331591407595410_13442450 Sending off my taxes today with intention and prayer that they will be used to support programs for the most vulnerable, and that my little contribution will join with others to help move us towards the country I know we can be. #taxmagic ✨
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Instagram post 2332756427273440195_13442450 So technically you’re not supposed to send food when trying to find an agent, but I did it it. 10 years ago, my granola helped seal that deal, and he insisted I send it to publishers when we were selling The Homemade Pantry (another general publishing no no) That Landed-a woman-with-no-platform-a-book deal Granola is up for grabs in this amazing bake sale, as well as goodies by some of my very favorite bakers (@madeinghent , @raisinporpoise , and @thedooryard to name a few). Oh and maybe my favorite item in there are the magical @susanspungen ginger chocolate cookies I mentioned a few weeks back, made by Sadie herself. All of this is to support the work of @multiculturalbridge , and the order form is up in my bio. Get to it! #bakersagainstracism
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Instagram post 2324845496300301430_13442450 To those who ask here? In Great Barrington? YES. In Great Barrington.
Instagram post 2324091364266290851_13442450 I know there are so many resources out there right now, but I want to share one that’s been really helpful for me in the last several months. There are many seasons of this podcast, but I recommend Season 2 on Whiteness as well is Season 4 on Democracy. #sceneonradio
Instagram post 2322615811734696638_13442450 Black lives matter.
Instagram post 2319329508599466327_13442450 I did not bake these cookies, as I am no longer the cookie baker in this house. But this is the second time that  Sadie has made @susanspungen ‘s Triple-Ginger Chocolate Chunk Cookies (and also the second time I’ve talked about a recipe Sadie has made from the #openkitchencookbook), and I think these might actually be the best cookies I have ever had. I’m often looking for the perfect ginger cookie and this is it, and I’d also choose it over a chocolate chip cookie (or let’s be honest-any other kind of cookie) any day.
Instagram post 2316311882260313364_13442450 No matter how many rulers and pizza cutters and other magical tools I use, it seems that the straight line will always elude me.
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Instagram post 2312088043104000827_13442450 Every day my neighbor’s yard gets prettier.
Instagram post 2311325683330503572_13442450 @paulaperlis sent us @susanspungen ‘s new book and of course the first recipe Sadie picked is marked with the *project* heading. She’s been cooking all afternoon and the house smells like ✨✨✨ (With gorgeous images by @gentlandhyers ❤️)
Instagram post 2311141543964321092_13442450 When I took on a day job a few years ago, I found that the first thing to go was all the homemade stuff I’d been making and writing about over the years. I’m still going out to work most days, but I’m finding now with a full and captive house and more downtime in general that those things I love to make are back. For me, it’s granola, yogurt, bread. Hello, old friends!
Instagram post 2308503311808232748_13442450 All the things in the house pasta: roasted cauliflower, a few sad leaves of kale, one jar of fancy tuna saved for a special occasion (how about Wednesday?), Rosemary, homemade breadcrumbs from the freezer fried in butter, crispy sage leaves, pasta water, salt, so much pepper. Success!
Instagram post 2307412630968777107_13442450 @artbywoodgy made this beautiful thing for me for Mother’s Day. All the veggies are on Velcro so I can plan to my hearts delight.
Instagram post 2306345003953662730_13442450 Happy Mother’s Day to my brave and beautiful mom, who birthed two different humans in such different times in her life. With me she was so young, and she figured it all out just as she was learning how to be an adult. This picture was taken nineteen years later, when she was pregnant again and I was almost an adult myself. Thanks for keeping at it, Mom, and for always showing up with love. ❤️
Instagram post 2304888771283579843_13442450 What we do for cake.
Instagram post 2302665269449083186_13442450 It’s a magnolia year for sure.
Instagram post 2295808104927071821_13442450 A long time ago, Joey talked about his crush on this particular alien-like flower with a good friend of ours. Months later, little bulbs arrived in the mail. We put them in the ground last fall, and now they are everywhere. If that isn’t some kind of magic, I don’t know what is. ✨ (🙏🏻 to @wildflowers1 for the cool vase, too.)
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