Project Foodie loves our foodies as much as we love cookbooks so what better way to show our appreciation than to have a cookbook give-away contest?  Each week for the next few weeks we will randomly draw a foodie to win a cookbook!  We’ll announce the cookbook to be given away each Wednesday on the Project Foodie frontpage along with the previous week’s winner.  See the details for this week’s contest here.

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This year I grew Kabocha squash for the first time and last week I picked the first one.  I don't have a lot of Kabocha squash recipes, in fact I don't think I had ever cooked with one before, so I adapted my butternut squash and cremini mushroom risotto to use the roasted Kabocha squash.  I thought I picked a relatively small squash but since it didn't have many seeds it ended up yielding about 3 ½  cups of roasted squash.  The squash was really yummy and tasted great in the risotto but I was left with a cup or so of  roasted squash.   The next day I saw the post for Leftover Tuesdays #8 and at the same time the weather turned and it got chilly here.  A perfect storm for leftover kabocha squash soup.  

A cup of squash doesn't yield a lot of soup but it was a perfect amount for a quick and easy lunch - especially since the squash was already roasted.  I simply blended the squash, a cup of chicken broth, a half cup of milk (I used skim) and a bit of sage until smooth.  I heated the mixture on the stove until hot and WOW was that great soup.  I really don't think it took me much longer to make than fetching a can of soup but the flavor was amazing.  Initially, I had intended on having half the soup with a sandwich but if was so good that I ate it all and had some fruit for my lunchtime dessert…  

I have two more Kabocha in the garden.  The only trick will be to restrain from eating both now so that we can enjoy some wonderful Kabocha soup in the middle of the winter .

By the way - if you're wondering how I roasted the Kabocha, which has a very hard shell, I'll share a fun trick I learned from Chef Suzanne Tracht at Jar in Los Angeles.  Chef Suzanne roasts the squash whole after having pierced the shell with a couple of holes.  I used a knife steel but a sterilized screwdriver may be the ultimate tool for the piercing.  Once roasted the squash is super easy to cut and work with - a stark contrast to the very hard raw squash…

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Today, Vicki, a friend and foodie, shares with you the hidden dangers in the food we eat for her six year old niece, Katie, who was born with a severe Peanut Allergy. You may think it is easy to stay away from peanuts but as Vicki knows all to well it is surprisingly difficult.   She asked me to help spread the word about the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network's (FAAN) fall walk-a-thons aimed at raising money for research to help cure and prevent food allergies.  As FAAN says "In the past five years, peanut allergy in children has doubled. The estimated number of Americans with food allergy has increased from 6 million to approximately 12 million, and we don't know why." Check out the walk-a-thon calendar to see if one will be near you.

I'll let Vicki explain why this is so important:

A Dinner to die for...

By Vicki

How about a nice dinner of pasta with pesto, a side of carrots and peas, and a nice slice of chocolate torte for dessert?  Delightful for all, except those suffering from an allergy to peanuts.  For them, any one of those dishes could cause a serious reaction including anaphylaxis, a serious - and sometimes deadly - reaction to allergens.  Now if you're thinking "Wait!  None of those dishes contain peanuts." you're right.  But, for those suffering from peanut allergies, the mere presence of the proteins from peanuts is dangerous; and most of those dishes may well contain them.

While a peanut allergy is just that - an allergy to peanuts only - many tree nuts, and even chocolate, are processed in plants where the machinery is also used in processing peanuts.  The residual proteins cause cross-contamination of the otherwise innocent food items, removing them from the diet of those allergic.  Additionally, peanuts aren't nuts at all, but rather a member of the legume family, which includes peas and beans.

Here's a little quiz to expose just how rampant the problem is.

1) How about nice bowl of pomme frites (or "French Fries" for the Francophobes) with ketchup?

Bzzzt.  Oddly enough, ketchup is often thickened with peanut butter, so cross that off of your list.

2) A wee bit of vanilla ice cream?

Nope.  Most ice cream's also processed in plants that process nuts.

3) Starting your morning with a bowl of raisin bran?

Sorry; more production plant cross-contamination.

4) Chocolate?

You guessed it.  Same issues.  While not all products are contaminated, you'll seriously need to read the label.

5) How about that next flight of fancy on a commercial airline?

Hopefully there weren't peanuts served on the previous flight.  However, even those dandy pretzels are processed in plants where nuts were previous residents.

A bit of bright news is that in January 2006, the United States government mandated that allergic information must now be printed on all packaging.

Why do I care?  My six year old niece Katie has this allergy.  I've been to the emergency room with her more times than I care to admit. 

If you live in Baltimore join in on the walk-a-thon on October 6th and keep an eye out for Katie who will participate as part of the 'No Nuts! Team'.

The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) will have several walk-a-thon's throughout the country learn all about it here.

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