Seasonal Recipes for Autumn from Nourishing Medicine

1. Butternut squash sweet potato soup

2. Easy yummy comfy soup

3. Oven fries (potato and sweet potato) with fry dips

4. Stewed maple butter apples

5. Ginger tea

6. “Chai” spiced tea

1. Butternut squash sweet potato soup

Peel one butternut squash, discard soft middle and seeds, cube squash

Wash and cube two sweet potatoes

Steam squash and potatoes until soft

Chop two onions, sauté in olive oil in a large soup pot until soft

Peel a large chunk of ginger and dice, add to pot with onions and cook for a few

minutes

Add a box of organic chicken or veggie broth

Add a can of coconut milk

Heat until boiling

Add pre-steamed squash and potatoes

Add a generous amount of Indian curry powder

Add a generous amount of salt and pepper

Heat until boiling again

Turn off stovetop and use hand blender to process until mostly smooth (or

desired consistency).

Adjust seasonings to taste, and add the following additions if desired:

• Chicken sausage (basil or apple are particularly good in this); cook bulk (non casing) sausage in a pan with olive oil, break up into small pieces – throw it in the cooked soup.
• A package or two of pre-washed baby spinach or baby arugula – when stirred into very hot soup it’ll cook perfectly.

2. Easy yummy comfy soup

Heat some coconut oil or olive oil or butter in a pot over medium heat.

Add sliced shitake mushrooms and sliced scallions and stir occasionally until

soft. The mushrooms will suck up the oil, so it can be good to add a bit of broth if

you don’t see any oil in the pan.

Pour in as much chicken broth as you’d like (it will sizzle at first), turn up heat,

and heat until lightly simmering.

Add some already cooked brown rice.

Once simmering again, crack an egg (or two) and add it, slowly from the shell,

into the simmering broth. Once the egg is cooked, which will be quick (don’t stir)

turn off the heat.

Slowly rip a few sheets of nori into small inch-sized pieces and stir them a few at

a time into the soup (putting too many at once will create an undesirable “clump”

of nori).

Add a small pour of toasted sesame oil, and a bit of hot chili oil (if spicy heat is

desired), salt and pepper.

Taste and adjust seasonings.

3. Oven fries: potato and sweet potato

Preheat the oven to 400-degrees with the racks at 1/3 and 2/3.

Russet and Yukon Gold are the best potatoes to use due to their starch content.

Sweet potatoes and yams are both delicious.

Cut potatoes into whatever size and shape you want as long as they are uniform.

Toss cut potatoes in safflower (or another veggie) oil (extra virgin olive oil cannot

stand up to the heat) and salt (and, if spice is desired, add some chipotle powder)

Place the cut potatoes in one layer on lightly barely greased baking sheets with

sides

Slide the potato filled sheets into the oven and cook: 20 minutes for regular

potatoes, 15 minutes for sweet potatoes.

Use a spatula to turn the potatoes keeping them one layer deep.

Stick them in for more time: 20 minutes more for regular potatoes, 15 minutes

more for sweet potatoes.

Check for readiness by inserting a knife point into a fry. If it’s too hard, keep

baking.

When soft, turn up the heat to 500+ for crispy fries; this should take no more than

5 minutes. Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn.

When adequately crispy (note that sweet potatoes and yams will never get as

crispy as regular potatoes), remove them from trays into a big paper towel lined

bowl and taste for appropriate saltiness – adjust as necessary.

Enjoy immediately by dipping into fun dips, such as:

Fry dips

Mayo (European)

Ketchup (use organic non-corn-syrup brands)

Thai curry mayo – mix one part Thai curry paste with 4 parts mayo

Indian curry mayo – mix one part Indian curry powder with 4 parts mayo

Creamy mustard – mix one part mustard with 3 parts mayo

Creamy honey mustard – same as above, add one part honey

Tahini Creamy Tasty Dressing – see Meal Salads section

Lemon dill caper mayo – mix mayo with fresh lemon juice, freshly chopped dill,

and chopped capers (similar to tartar sauce)

4. Stewed maple butter apples

Slice a bunch of apples – local in season apples are the best, peel if you so

desire (keeping the peels on will make the dish more nutritious, and will vary the

consistency)

Squeeze some fresh lemon juice on them

Put some butter in a cast iron pan and heat (on medium)

Add apple slices

Drizzle in maple syrup

Stir every few minutes

Add some rice or coconut milk if more liquid is ever needed – while stirring there

should be a tiny tiny bit of liquid at the bottom of the pan, but the apples should

never be boiling in liquid

Add more maple syrup

Add cinnamon – more than you might think

Keep stirring and adding ingredients as desired until apples are of desired

consistency.

5. Ginger tea

You’ll need a bunch of ginger root, good water, and some local, raw honey

Peel the ginger (using a small paring knife or teaspoon).

Cut the ginger into thin slices.

Put the ginger in a pot. Fill with good water. Boil. Reduce. Taste. If it needs to be

stronger, keep reducing.

When at desired strength, pour or strain into cups and sweeten with local, raw

honey.

More water can be added and boiled with ginger at least two more times. You

can leave the ginger in the pot, without water, for a day or two and add more

water whenever you want some.

6. “Chai” spiced tea

Prepare ginger as above and put it in the pot.

Add a cinnamon stick or cinnamon chunks, some crushed cardamom pods (take

the side of a knife and press onto the green cardamom pods, exposing the

seeds), a clove or two (if you like cloves), some peppercorns (more if you like it

peppery).

Add water. Boil and reduce.

Follow the water-adding technique of Ginger Tea.

Warm some rice or almond milk (may separate) and add it, along with some

local, raw honey or agave nectar.

If you like, brew green, black, or rooibos tea separately and combine.