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Warming Ginger-Aduki Soup

Note: this piece first appeared as the March 2008 ClarkWellness.net Recipe of the Month.

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.

Roasted Butternut Squash

Note: this piece first appeared in the November 2007 issue of Clark Wellness ForkBytes.

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.

Roasted Acorn Squash with Curry Stuffing

Note: this piece first appeared as the November 2006 ClarkWellness.net Recipe of the Month.

Serves 4

This easy recipe is a great way to enjoy seasonal ingredients and use up some leftover cooked whole grains. Any grain will work, but I especially recommend millet, brown rice, and/or barley.

2 acorn squash, halved and cleaned
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 garlic cloves, minced
sea salt and pepper
1 onion, finely diced
3 teaspoons curry powder
1/4 cup golden raisins or currants
1 cup cooked whole grain of choice
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1 zucchini, diced
1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds, chopped

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Cut a small slice of each half of acorn squash from the bottom so it can sit flat on a baking sheet. Brush the squash with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle garlic, sea salt, and pepper over top. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 35 minutes.

While the squash is cooking, heat the remaining oil in a skillet. Add the onions, curry powder, and raisins or currants and sauté for about 3 minutes. Add the cooked grains and continue to cook for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from heat and mix in parsley and zucchini.

After the 35 minutes, fill each squash cup with stuffing, top with chopped pumpkin seeds, and return to the oven to bake an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until squash is tender. Serve warm.

Step-By-Step: Spring Steamer

For written instructions, see the original post: Spring Steamer

Begin with one zucchini, one yellow squash, and one carrot. Wash all the veggies and peel the carrot.

veggies

Slice the vegetables into rounds, like I did with this carrot, or…

carrot-slice

…cut them into shapes. Begin by cutting the vegetable into smaller (more manageable) sections, then cut small slits around the edges using a paring or chef’s knife, then slice. This is optional, of course, but it does make this dish a little more festive and fun.

squashslice

Place the vegetable slices into a steamer basket or pot insert and steam over boiling water until just tender. Cooking time will depend on the thickness of your pieces; for these slices, it took about 5 minutes.

vegcook

Place cooked veggies in a serving bowl and drizzle with 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill, squeeze 1/2 a lemon overtop, and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

season

Stir well and serve!

finishedsprsteam

Aduki Squash Stew

Note: this piece first appeared as the November 2005 ClarkWellness.net Recipe of the Month.

Serves 2 to 3

The unusual combination of thyme and cinnamon lends an interesting and tasty twist to this colorful dish. You’ll find aduki beans (also called adzuki beans, red dragon beans, or red wonder) in natural food stores. Cooking the aduki beans with kombu, a seaweed available dried in the macrobiotic/Asian section of natural food stores, helps stave off digestive distress from the beans. Leafy greens add flavor, nutrition, and a beautiful touch of color.

3/4 cup dry aduki beans
water for soaking
1 3-inch piece of kombu seaweed
2–3 cups water
1 winter squash (butternut, acorn, delicata, etc.), peeled and cut into pieces
small handful chopped greens, such as arugula or kale, plus more for garnish (optional)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Sea salt

Sort and rinse the aduki beans, then soak them in water overnight. Drain and rinse. Add beans to a medium-sized soup pot along with the water and kombu. Bring to a boil; skim off foam if necessary. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 25–30 minutes.

Add the squash to the pot and boil another 15–20 minutes or until squash and beans are just tender. Stir in greens, if using, and season with thyme, cinnamon, and sea salt. Garnish individual servings with extra chopped greens, if desired.

See step-by-step photos of this dish!

Aduki Squash Stew

Step-By-Step: Aduki-Squash Stew

For written instructions, see the original post: Aduki-Squash Stew

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.

aduki_beans

Rinse the beans in a strainer or colander.

rinsebeans

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

soakbeans1

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

pourrinsebeans

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.

kombucutrinse

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.

kombubeansboil

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.

squashprep

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.

squashcook

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!

kombuchop

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.

addgreens

Garnish with more chopped greens and serve. Yum!

aduki-squash_stew

ForkBytes

Grab life by the fork

Warming Ginger-Aduki Soup

Roasted Butternut Squash

Roasted Acorn Squash with Curry Stuffing

Step-By-Step: Spring Steamer

Aduki Squash Stew

Step-By-Step: Aduki-Squash Stew

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