Serves 4

This warming, soothing soup includes aduki beans (also called adzuki, adzuki, azuki, or asuki beans), which are small reddish beans. Kombu, a sea vegetable, is also included to remineralize the soaked beans and improve digestion. Both these ingredients are available in health food stores and Asian markets.

1 cup dry aduki beans
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cups chopped butternut squash
2 teaspoons grated ginger
generous pinch sea salt
1 2-inch piece kombu
6 cups chicken, fish, or vegetable stock

Rinse the beans and soak, overnight, in enough water to cover generously. Drain, rinse, and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, squash, ginger, and sea salt and sauté until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the reserved beans, kombu, and stock. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat, and simmer until the beans are very tender, 40 to 60 minutes. Adjust seasonings.

You may serve the soup as is, or you may purée part or all of the soup prior to serving.

Serves 4

1 whole butternut squash
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Peel the butternut squash, remove the seeds, and cut into bite-sized pieces. Place the squash in a large roasting pan and add olive oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary. Toss to coat well. Roast in preheated oven about 45 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Serve warm.

Start with 3/4 cup aduki beans (also called adzuki beans, red dragon beans, or red wonder beans). You can find these dried in natural food stores. Spread the beans on a plate and pick out any stones or other foreign material.

Rinse the beans in a strainer or colander.

Place beans in a bowl and cover with at least 2 inches of water. Soak overnight.

Pour the soaked beans into a strainer or colander and rinse again. Set aside.

Next you’ll need some kombu. Kombu is a sea vegetable that you will find dried in the macrobiotic/Asian section of natural foods stores. It’s very helpful in preventing problems digesting the beans (as are all those extra rinses we did earlier). You need about a 3-inch piece of kombu. Trim the long strip with kitchen scissors. I like to rinse off my kombu before adding it to the pot.

Place the kombu in a medium-sized soup pot and add 2–3 cups water. Add soaked, rinsed beans. Bring to a boil and skim off foam if necessary. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 25-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare your winter squash (you can use any winter squash; I chose butternut). Peel the squash, then cut it into sections. Remove seeds with a spoon. Chop squash into bite-sized pieces.

After your beans and kombu have simmered 25–30 minutes, add your squash pieces to the pot and cook another 15–20 minutes or until squash and beans are just tender.

At this point, if your kombu hasn’t disintegrated into the stew, you can remove it, chop it, and add it back to the pot. This step is optional, but the kombu adds a lot of extra nutrition to the dish and isn’t really noticeable, so it’s a great way to sneak in extra veggies!

Stir in a handful of chopped greens, such as kale, arugula, or spinach, if desired. Add 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and sea salt to taste.

Garnish with more chopped greens and serve. Yum!

These skewers feature delicious sweet-tasting butternut squash and lovely fall apples. They are fabulous for parties and to have on hand for snacks; they keep about 3 days in the refrigerator.

Makes 8 to 10 servings

2 tablespoons no-taste oil (such as safflower or sunflower) or melted coconut butter
2 tablespoons almond or cashew butter
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
3 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons nutmeg
juice of 1 lemon, divided
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
3 to 4 apples

Preheat oven to 375°F. Soak 8 to 10 wooden skewers in water.

In a large bowl, whisk together oil or coconut butter, nut butter, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, and about half the lemon juice. If necessary, add a bit of water (the mixture should be the consistency of a thick dressing).

Add the squash pieces and toss to coat evenly. Remove the squash pieces with a slotted spoon and place on a baking sheet. Set the remaining dressing mixture aside. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake at 375°F for 20 minutes, then remove from oven and allow to cool briefly.

Cut the apples into 3/4-inch pieces and toss with remaining lemon juice. Coat with remaining dressing mixture.

Drain skewers and thread alternating squash and apple pieces on them. Place skewers on a baking sheet and bake at 375°F for 15 minutes or until squash and apples are tender. Serve warm or at room temperature.