My friend (and former high school biology teacher) Jane, recently showed me a summer squash recipe from a health flyer and suggested that I might do a little "doctoring" to make it more in line with the predominantly plant-based diet that our office uses as part of Dr. Lisa's 90 Day Better Body Plan.

The health flyer recipe used fat-free half and half to make it creamy.  I substituted pureed brown rice and a bit of tahini (ground sesame seeds).  I also left out the potatoes and changed the seasonings.  Here is the result:     

Curried Summer Squash Bisque

~1 cup chopped leeks
~3 garlic cloves, minced
~1/2 cup scallions, chopped
~3 cups low sodium vegetable broth or water
~8 cups chopped summer squash and/or zucchini
~2 cups kale, washed with stems removed
~1 tsp curry powder
~1 cup cooked brown rice
~1 TBSP tahini (may use peanut butter)
~dash cayenne
~freshly ground pepper and sea salt, to taste

Preheat a small amount of olive oil to a heavy-bottomed stock pot or large saucepan. Add leeks, garlic and shallots and saute over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, until tender.

Add squash and/or zucchini. Saute 5-8 minutes.

Add stock, water and curry powder to pan.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and cook until vegetables are tender (approximately 10 minutes).

Allow mixture to cool.  Place in a food processor or blender.  Add rice and tahini, blend until smooth.

Return to pan.  Heat to serve. OR serve chilled. Enjoy!

By the way, we used zucchini, summer squash and garlic from our  Meadowood Farm share.  Typically we report on our weekly farmshares as part of our WLOB "Basket o' Fun" segment, but I was away on August 10th, visiting colleges in upstate New York with my son.  (I can't believe my baby is a senior in high school!) For those who follow our WLOB 'fun baskets,' and are interested, the week #9 farmshare included:  

~1 head of romaine lettuce

~1/2 pound of shallots

~1 bunch of carrots

~1 pint of cherry tomatoes

~2 pounds potatoes

~3 pounds summer squash & zucchini

~1 head garlic

~2 cucumbers

Thanks to Jane for supplying us with such a seasonally appropriate recipe.  Lucky for me, Jane has agreed to begin working with our office this fall.  We look forward to many more timely and interesting ideas!