I’ve made a squash soup that is easy because there’s no need for a blender. Plus you can customize the spices to make one batch two ways.

I came upon a recipe for Thai-spiced pumpkin soup at the fantastic blog 101 Cookbooks last year, and loved the results. I use acorn squash without pumpkin, and have a smaller ratio of coconut milk to squash, but one of the great things about this recipe is its adaptability. Add liquid a little bit at a time, and you’ll get the consistency you want.

I knew my kids would not eat anything “Thai-spiced,” however. So I experimented with making half the soup slightly sweet, to play off the idea of that gateway drug — pumpkin pie.

A little pumpkin butter did the trick.
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The great feature about pumpkins and squash is their versatility, which can make them critical ingredients in everything from soup to entrees. (AP)

More on pumpkins:

Save those pumpkin seeds | Recipe for soup with a Thai kick
Capture the taste of fall with ‘love soup’ | Risotto is pumpkin decadence for one

The leaves remain unchanged in color. The temperatures dip only ever so slightly. In South Florida, it takes a little imagination to summon the feel of autumn.

But once you do, you quickly realize there is simply no autumn without the aroma of baked pumpkin treats or the parade of fall colors upon the plate.

Imagining autumn is not so difficult when one has a kitchen and a bounty of seasonal vegetables and fruits. Besides, somehow our bodies seem to know when it’s fall — they begin to crave more earthy foods, more robust than summer’s lighter fare.

I know this because I’ve been craving a good pumpkin soup since my calendar signaled the start of fall.
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Dr. McDougall’s ready-to-serve carton soups are vegan, high in fiber, filling, low calorie, and yet, surprisingly (for me) delicious. I expect foods in those categories to be … palatable, tolerable. These soups are really good. I especially like the vegetable soup, minestrone, and chunky tomato, but all seven varieties are good, and satisfying as a meal. There’s also lentil, black bean, split pea, and roasted red pepper with tomato. Each carton is about 18 oz., two servings, most are complete protein, many are gluten free. Prices vary, but they are available at Whole Foods and online at http://www.rightfoods.com

Consider soup when looking for a filling meal that has plenty of low-calorie vegetables and liquid. Toasted barley soup with Swedish meatballs adds whole grains and goes nicely with salad and whole-grain bread. (AP)

Soup as a main course is a great way to fill up on low-calorie vegetables and liquid, leaving you satisfied without feeling stuffed.

Choosing the right soup is the trick.

Canned soups can throw a few nutritional curveballs into this healthy eating plan. They’re usually loaded with sodium, and creamy soups can pack plenty of unwanted fat.

To make your own broth-based soup, be sure to start with a reduced-sodium broth, then add plenty of filling vegetables and beans.
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Artichoke hearts and mascarpone cheese create a sooper-quick bisque for those craving comfort food. (Photo by Pam Brandon)

What begins as an ordinary tale of when ‘tater-met-onion soup receives a plot-thickening twist from artichoke hearts and a heady dollop of mascarpone cheese.

Intensely rich, this triple cream dessert cheese is best known for its role in tiramisù, yet it also adds a creamy decadence to pastas, soups or as a spread for crackers or crostini. Sold in teensy tubs, mascarpone cheese is available in most supermarkets in the gourmet cheese aisle.

Try this souper-quick bisque when you’re craving comfort on the fly. With just six ingredients and a single pot for hubby to wash, your soulful bowlful is ready to spoon in just 20 minutes.

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I’m not sure how 2009 became The Summer of Tomato Bisque, but for some reason I find myself ordering it a lot these days, because I like getting a little cup of something rich and creamy-fatty without beating myself up about it.

And the tomato soup at Dolce De Palma, located near Howard Park in West Palm Beach, is exactly that — a small dose of sweet, pungent goodness that’s divine with dipped bread. It’d probably be great in a huge vat — but we’re practicing moderation now.

Dolce De Palma, 1000 Old Okeechobee Road, West Palm Beach. (561) 833-6460

Ron Del Signore, partner of Il Bellagio restaurant in CityPlace, displays three items from his restaurant's new breakfast menu (from left): Eggs in Purgatory (poached eggs prepared with a fresh tomato sauce, onions and peas); crepes filled with mascarpone cream, infused with blueberries, topped with whipped cream and blueberries; and Nana's Breakfast, consisting of Italian bread with the center torn out, filled with eggs and sautéed with roasted peppers. Damon Higgins/The Post

CityPlace has always been a prime destination for lunch and dinner. But until recently, if you visited the downtown West Palm Beach shopping and dining spot during the morning hours, the most you could rustle up was coffee and a sweet roll from Panera Bread or Starbucks.

Now, that’s starting to change: In the past week, the popular Italian restaurant Il Bellagio (600 S. Rosemary Ave., 561-659-6160,
ilbellagiocityplace.com) has introduced a full breakfast menu, including pancakes, eggs and something called a Nana’s Breakfast
platter.

“The venue that we have is so conducive to sitting outside and having a nice breakfast,” says Il Bellagio partner Ron Del Signore, noting the restaurant’s location right by the CityPlace fountain. (Of course, you can also dine inside in air-conditioned comfort.)
In planning the breakfast menu, Del Signore knew he had to have the classics. That means offerings like two eggs prepared to order ($4.95) and platters of pancakes, French toast or waffles ($5.95).

But Del Signore also wanted to introduce items “with an Italian flair.” That’s taken the form of offerings like the Nana’s Breakfast (Italian toast with an egg cooked in the center, served with roasted peppers and potatoes, $6.95) and ricotta pancakes (traditional pancakes with the Italian cheese whipped into the batter, $6.95). You can also request a side dish of polenta cakes ($2.95).

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Kelly is today’s winner, and here’s the winning recipe: Kelly says:
I’m a hardcore slow cooker fan, and I love to dispel the myth that only overcooked stews and gloppy casseroles can come out of them.

The slow, even cooking makes for some of the best gourmet food you can make, and you can even mimic French-style sauces that would normally take a double boiler and an eagle eye.

This recipe is the proof, plus it’s on the quick side for slow cooking (only one hour), so it’s perfect for a busy summer day.

Slow Cooker Salmon Risotto

Ingredients:
4 Tbsp real butter, melted
1 bunch green onions, finely chopped
1/2 medium cucumber, peeled and chopped
1 cup quick-cook rice
3 cups hot vegetable stock
1/2 cup white wine or dry vermouth
1 lb. fresh salmon fillets, skinned and roughly chopped
3 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except salmon in the bottom of your slow cooker’s crock. Cook on medium for 45 minutes. Add salmon and cook an additional 15 minutes until salmon is cooked through. Remove lid just before serving and allow to sit for a few minutes, and risotto will “set” perfectly.

The butter, wine, stock combination in this risotto is dreamy. No one will ever believe you made it in a crockpot!
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There’s 6 questions and 6 grocery goodie bags left in our contest. This question will stay open all weekend, and we’ll pick a winner on Monday.

Every weekday for a month, someone reading these posts and sharing their knowledge will win a generous bag of cool groceries. Why not you?

To enter today, tell us your favorite slow cooker recipe. (Each weekday’s contest will be different.)

I love my slow cooker. It is such a treat to have a warm meal, and a homey dinner smell when I walk in the door after work.

Post your tip in the comments section at the end of this entry.

Please use your real email address when you register, so we can reach you when you win. (We won’t use it for any other purpose, I promise.) We’ll pick the best idea or recipe and award that person yummy foods to try!

When you win, we’ll contact you about how to collect your bag ‘o yummies in a reusable, eco-friendly shopping bag (Thanks, Whole Foods, for the bags!).

Watch this space for new questions and prizes every weekday for a month!

The bags contain lots of new foods you might not have tried. A few prizes are coupons for free items which will be sent to you, at no cost. Each bag also has extra packets of grocery coupons.

Every bag is different, but some of the items included are: Hungry-Man meals, Lance whole-grain snack crackers, Crisco olive oils, Skinny Cow ice cream treats, Wickles pickles, Penzey’s cinnamon, Orbit gums, Pepperidge Farm 100-calorie packs and granola cookies, Tyson products, Truvia sweetener, Eagle Mills Ultragrain flour, Zen Crunch, Dunkin Donuts, and lots of grocery coupons, too.

WHOLE FOODS MARKET, 1400 Glades Road, Boca Raton. Preregister at customer service. (561) 447-0000.

Z Value Tour with Taste, 7-8 p.m. Wednesday. Learn money saving strategies and insider tips that only the team members know. Free.

Z Freedom Chili Cook-off, 4-6 p.m. Friday. The departments battle in a chili cook-off to celebrate Independence Day. Enjoy live music, samples, patriotic cake and beer. Free.
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The cook: Fred Gilbert of Boynton Beach

His story: I was born and raised in Meadville, Pa. As a boy, I enjoyed fishing. My mother owned a restaurant. My dad was an electrician. As a teen, I washed dishes in another restaurant and ended up as a waiter. I have two sons, one a science teacher in Vermont and the other a truck driver in New York. I attended the Salvation Army School for Officers Training in New York City.

I later became a United Methodist pastor and served in the Adirondacks for 20 years. It was during that time that I took a greater interest in cooking, because of all the potluck meals the church sponsored and the ongoing bake sales to raise money. After I retired as a minister, I became a merchant marine for eight years.
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