After five months, I’m back!  I had some really rough health months in the time I haven’t been posting, so my blog fell by the wayside.  I did take pictures of some of the recipes I created during that time, though, so I have recipes to share.  I just need to get them up on the web.  Easier said than done!

One of the changes that happened during that five month absence is that I removed black pepper from my diet.  I started getting migraines again, and I wasn’t sure why.  Through the process of elimination, I figured out black pepper was one of the main culprits.  I stopped eating black pepper right before Christmas, and within three weeks I had lost an entire dress size with no other changes.  Weight issues involve far more than just calories, sugar and exercise, but our society often fails to recognize that.

So for the past five months, I’ve been eating simply and eating without pepper.  It eliminated a few more of the very few processed shortcut foods I had (like a few of the Amy’s frozen dinners I could eat), but I’m probably better off without them.  It’s made me become more creative with seasonings rather than just relying on black pepper like so many of us are trained to do.

The soup below was a “use up what’s in the fridge” creation.  Summer squash are about to be overrunning CSA boxes locally, and squash recipes are always appreciated at this time of year.  This recipe could easily use zucchini, yellow, or zephyr squash or any other similar soft squash that you end up with.  Likewise, any type of mushroom that you prefer would work well.

This soup freezes well.

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Mushroom Summer Squash Soup

Splash of canola oil
1 large organic white or yellow onion, diced
1 organic green chile including seeds, sliced
4-5 cloves of organic garlic, chopped roughly
3 cups sliced organic mushrooms (I used cremini)
7 cups organic summer squash, cubed in 1 inch-ish chunks  (I used zucchini  and zephyr)
½ cup fresh organic parsley, chopped roughly
1 tablespoon fresh organic rosemary, chopped roughly
6 cups organic chicken broth

Saute the onions, chile and garlic in the canola oil until the onions are almost translucent.  Add in the mushrooms, squash, parsley, rosemary, and chicken broth.  Cook over medium heat until the squash are tender.  Once softened, use an immersion blender to blenderize the soup.   If you don’t have an immersion blender, transfer in small batches to a regular blender, being careful not to overfill.

Makes about 3 quarts.

©NaturallyElizabeth.com