Culinary Therapy Expands

Last summer we introduced our readers to Culinary Therapy, a new concept in giving back through food and humor. Led by Verona resident Cardie Mortimer, what started as a simple one-time act of giving back has grown into a state-touring event and national TV exposure.

In the past year, the Culinary Therapy team has visited 23 care and rehabilitation centers and two high schools throughout the state of New Jersey. Each show lasts approximately one hour and is complete with a meal for each attendee. These events are open to anyone wishing to participate, whether family members of attendees or community members looking for good food and a laugh.

In early September, Cablevision’s Neighborhood Journal, airing in Bergen, Morris, and Passaic counties, featured Culinary Therapy and its mission to their 1 million viewers. While Essex County is not part of the coverage area, you can view the video here. (In the spirit of full disclosure, I was at Mortimer’s on the day of the taping, and having seen his show last year, was interviewed and kept off the cutting room floor.)

More recently the television coverage continued with the Better Show which airs nationwide on Fox.  The Better Show is a lifestyle television program which aims to make life “better” for its viewers. With Mortimer’s focus on healthy, but easy, recipes and giving back to those who helped him recover from a back injury, the Better Show was an excellent fit.

Mortimer has been gracious enough to share his recipe for Pumpkin Soup he made on the Better Show. And, with the crisp mornings and fall in the air, there is no better time to start thinking about Pumpkin Soup.

 Chef Cardie’s Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients:

6 cups pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix). Fresh pumpkin can also be used.

2 tablespoons of curry powder (or to taste)

2 tablespoons of cinnamon

2 garlic heads, roasted and the cloves squeezed out (recipe follows)

1 stick unsalted butter (1/2 cup) mixed with 5 tablespoons of flour to make a roux

2 tablespoons olive oil

A few shakes of hot sauce such as Tabasco (optional)

2 tablespoons of canola oil (for pumpkin seeds)

freshly ground black pepper to taste

kosher salt to taste

2 large onions finely chopped

5 celery stalks, chopped

10 cups low sodium chicken stock or homemade stock

1/4 cup of honey

2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

4-6 ounces of half and half or skim milk (optional)

2 bay leafs

Roasted pumpkin seeds (recipe follows)

Directions:

1. Place 3 tablespoons butter and some olive oil in a soup pot. Add the onion, celery and curry, cooking over medium heat. Stir and cook vegetables are translucent and softened (not browned), for about 10 minutes.
2. Using a bit of the chicken stock as well, place vegetables and caramelized garlic into a food blender and puree until lumpy and mostly liquefied. Add to soup pot.
3. Add pumpkin puree, the bay leafs and chicken stock to pot and stir everything until pumpkin has dissolved.
4. Add the ginger and the nutmeg and the honey.
5. In a separate sauté pan, cook the butter and flour together for 5 minutes to form a  roux. This can be added to thicken the soup slightly.
6. Bring entire mixture a simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaf. Puree the soup with an immersion blender.
7. Stir in the half and half or skim milk. Return to the heat. DO NOT BOIL OR BURN!
8. Taste soup and adjust seasonings accordingly.
9. Serve in mini cleaned up pumpkins, ceramic pumpkins or soup bowls. Garnish with chopped chives and roasted pumpkin seeds.

How to Roast Pumpkin Seeds

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Place the seeds from a fresh pumpkin in a colander. Run cold running water over the seeds to remove the strings and flesh. Dry the seeds with a paper towel and spread out onto sheet pan with some aluminum foil and non stick spray. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter, pour over seeds and toss to coat. Sprinkle with some kosher salt. Bake in oven for  45-50 minutes. Check them from time to time so they don’t burn and stir once or twice.

How to Caramelize Garlic

Preheat oven to 425 degrees, Remove the top 1/4 part of each garlic head exposing the cloves. Place cloves on aluminum foil. Season the tops with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper and wrap cloves up in the foil. Place on baking sheet and roast them in oven for 45-50 minutes.  Let heads cool and then squeeze out cloves.