Archives

Fall is here in San Francisco and that looks like Giants baseball games, long hikes in the Marin Headlands, beautiful sun filled days, and gorgeous orange sunsets. The farmers markets are exploding with apples, pears, and my personal favorite winter squash!! Winter squash will start to appear at the market late summer and fall and have thick tough skin and sweet rich flesh. There’s a whole bunch of different varieties. Best news about winter squash is that they’re gluten free, low on the glycemic index and super nutritious. I like to use winter squash to sweeten up my immune boosting broths.

This fall broth will flush and hydrate your system, as well as sneak in some vitamins and minerals, so have as much of it as you want. When you’re preparing it, make sure that it’s light, not thick. I like to sip mine out of a nice big mug with a little extra fresh ginger and cayenne. Try using delicata, acorn or kabocha squash.

10 cups water

2 cups celery, chopped (6 to 8 stalks)

2 medium onions, peeled and cut in quarters

2-inch piece of burdock root, peeled and chopped into medium dice

1/3 cup fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

7 cloves of garlic, peeled

12 parsley sprigs

1 large butternut, or a mixture of butter nut and acorn or delicata squash, peeled and cut into large slices

1/2 teaspoon Himalayan or Celtic sea salt

Optional: 1/4 teaspoon cayenne

Directions: In a 5-quart stock pot, combine the water, celery, onions, burdock root, ginger, garlic cloves, parsley and the or butternut squash, leaving the squash on top. Bring the water to a boil, and then reduce the heat. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Turn heat off and let cool for at least 30 minutes. When cool, remove the pieces of squash and set them aside. Strain the liquid through colander into a large bowl. Discard the rest of vegetables. In small batches, mix a combination of the liquid and pieces of the squash in a blender until you get a light broth consistency. Blend in a pinch of salt and spices as you wish.