Hormone Hypocrisy?: Curried Acorn Squash Soup
During a recent OB/GYN visit, I asked my doctor about birth control options – while I am considering a third child, I haven’t fully committed to the idea. He gladly explained the different alternatives for birth control (IUDs, pills, etc) and their respective pros and cons. He also gave me a history lesson on the evolution of the birth control and its revolutionary impact on women, society, economy and culture.
My doctor is that thorough.
Upon leaving my doctor’s office, I felt empowered and informed. Motivated and compelled, I decided that I would most certainly commit to some form of contraception. The only unknown was which method to use. To help me make this decision, I enlisted the help of a friend – a kind, objective, rational and non-judgmental human being to help me sort through the facts and figures.
“You’re a bit of a hypocrite, aren’t you?” said my ‘friend’ as we contemplated acorn squash in the vegetable aisle. “If you won’t eat a chicken jacked up on hormones, why would you pump yourself up with hormones? Use the old stand-by, you know? The condom? They’re hormone-free.”
Who me? A hypocrite?
Yes, I know a thing (or two) about the condom; however, I was hoping for something a little more….hassle-free…maybe? While I tried to pretend I was hard of hearing, her unintended, yet opinionated rhetoric managed to strike a nerve. In essence, if I strive to avoid eating foods infused with hormones, why would I voluntarily ‘ingest’ hormones?
This question is less of a commentary on the hormone-based birth control and more about the extent to which I choose to live a more natural and organic lifestyle. First came the transition towards more whole, organic foods. Then came the switch to organic shampoos, natural face creams , body lotions, etc. Where do I draw the line? Barring the need for the occasional OTC/prescription drug, vaccine or a once-in-a-lifetime medical intervention, can I still live ‘organically’ while occasionally partaking in a chemical here or a hormone there? Can I engage for the purposes of convenience, or should I save my ‘chemical ingestion quota’ for a life-or-death situation?
Another thought: can you equate the hormones used in livestock to the hormones used in humans? Obviously, the hormones are varied and serve different purposes (one is used to rapidly increase growth while the other is used to prevent pregnancy), but…is the idea of using hormones to alter physiology/chemical state the same in these instances? Are they comparable in concept? And more to the point, are they comparable in principle?
I haven’t a clue how to answer any of these questions, much less the one about contraceptives. But maybe that is ok. All of my life altering decisions were made with significant thought, research and genuine concern. I suppose it comes as no surprise that I’d engage in a metaphysical debate about which birth control method I should use.
In the meantime, I’ll stick with the ‘old stand-by’ and indulge in this creamy, savory Acorn Squash soup. While my friend was useless in sorting out my birth control issues, she did help me pick out a very lovely acorn squash. I added a tiny bit of garam masala and a splash of heavy cream to make this a luxurious, yet healthy meal.
Boun Appetito!
Curried Acorn Squash Soup
Curried Acorn Squash Soup
Serves 4 (entrée size)
Ingredients:
1 acorn squash
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Couple tablespoons of Olive Oil
Salt/Pepper
1 medium onion, diced
½ teaspoon powdered ginger
1-teaspoon garam masala
½ teaspoon cumin
4 cups of chicken stock
1 tablespoon of heavy cream (optional)
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds. Sprinkle the cut sides with some salt, pepper, olive oil and thyme. Add 1 peeled and smashed garlic clove in each half. Place on a baking sheet with cut sides facing up. Cook for 1 hour. Can do ahead.
Over medium heat, place a large soup pot or dutch oven. Add a tablespoon or so of olive oil. Add the diced onions and the remaining 2 garlic cloves. After 5 minutes, or after the onions are translucent, add a pinch of salt and pepper. Immediately following the salt/pepper addition, add the ginger, garam masala and cumin. Cook for 1-2 minutes on medium heat.
Scoop out the cooked acorn squash and add to the soup pot. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup. Turn off heat. Add more salt/pepper to taste and the heavy cream (if using).
Enjoy as is or with some croutons!
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Category: Featured Articles: Health & Nutrition, Health & Nutrition, Recipe Vault, Soups
I love the way you tell a story and in the middle of it you involve a delicious soup into it… Its like we just had dinner together with a nuce conversation.. Photos are amazing, very rustic. Thanks for sharing. Luna.
What a great recipe never tried making anything like this going to bookmark this one
nice job!
I love that you had this conversation in the produce department of the grocery store. Mine probably would have been held while sharing a bottle of wine. Yours ended much more productively. Fantastic looking soup!
I love how you told a story almost completely irrelevant to the beautiful pictures of soup in between… :p
will definitely be making this one. And for your dilemma – just have a 3rd!
The recipe sounds delicious and the hormone dilemma sounds familiar. Great post!
-Brenda
HA! I love your friend’s comment! Very thought provoking…
I guess we all have a bit of hypocrisy in our lives. I can’t stand it when people have bad attitudes–except for when I have one!
Your soup looks so comforting!
Well, being a Catholic and the momma of 9 children I vote for another child ;o) OR you could check into NFP or Creighton http://bit.ly/dJp4tG both Hormone free forms of birth control – just a suggestion.
I think we all struggle to decide where the line is – in my opinion, thought, research and prayer must go into that decision.
And that soup looks amazing. Thank you for this both thought provoking and delicious link to the hearth and soul hop!
What a dilemma you have, but at least it was accompanied by an amazing soup. Best of luck and thanks for sharing such a delicious recipe.
interesting points and a great soup
Whichever your opt, no doubt this is a nice choice of comforting soup : ).
Yep, b/c pills are always a dilemma for many different reasons. The soup sounds lovely, I like the addition of ginger, garam masala, and cumin.
Very interesting post…makes me smile
I would love to see another baby! 
Wow! Patty – you weave a thought-provoking dilemma and an awesome soup (with garam masala no less, woohoo!) all into the one post.
As for your dilemma – lots of pros and cons…I think deep down with such a personal issue, we all know deep down which route to go so that’s where the answer is, non?
No matter which route you go, catch my hug….we’ve all been there 
Ciao, Devaki @ weavethousandflavors
Hi Patty,
Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving a comment. I enjoyed your blog, the acorn squash soup looks so velvety and luscious on my screen, I could just dive right in! Reading your commentary while looking at the soup photos kind of felt like reading the paper during a meal, it was most enjoyable:)
Thanks for sharing (and I am not being sarcastic!). Honestly, very thought-provoking. I’ve never been very comfortable with the idea of ingesting man-made hormones for contraception, although I did in my late teens and early twenties. So we’ve chosen other, non-condom routes. Diaphragms are good, but I wouldn’t recommend the sponge if you aren’t sure of having a third child. That’s how I had my “oops” third! Love her, but it was a shock.
But the soup looks delicious!
Patty, you raise some great points here–I think due to a lot of technological/scientific innovation and pseudo innovation we are bombarded with hypocrisies (all mingled in with stuff that really does advance quality of life–it’s hard to tell at times)! Thanks also for raising an issue that women deal with heavily, yet doing it in a light and comfortable way. And as always, your photos and recipe are absolutely mouth-watering.
I love acorn squash am diffinitely trying this lovely looking soup, could use this for breakfast right now its pretty cold here in Florida!
I hope you figure out the best option for you and I would definitely be enjoying every bite of this soup in the meantime!
I have the very same dilemma, minus the first 2 children.
It definitely seems hypocritical to me, but we each have our own levels of comfort when it comes to hormones. Good luck figuring out where to draw the line! And what a beautiful looking soup.
That was something I always struggled with before I didn’t have to worry any more (good hubs actions saved me…). I’m sure a bowl of your gorgeous soup eases the tension in the decision making process at least for a bit
Thanks for sharing it with the hearth and soul hop this week!
Wow, here I was expecting a nice soup recipe (indeed, it looks yum), but find something much deeper. My own choice has been to avoid hormonal contraception because it just flat out scares me to monkey around with something as complex as my hormonal cascade. I see those commercials that ask, “who says you need a monthly period,” and I think, well, my body says so. But, I appreciate that this is a subject that every woman/family struggles with. Check out the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler, and this article http://bearmedicineherbals.com/an-interview-with-robin-rose-bennett-wild-carrot-fertility-and-a-vision.html
Thank you for sharing with the Hearth and Soul hop.
Patty – I wanted to thank you again for sharing such a thought-provoking post with the Hearth and Soul hop. I’ll be featuring it among my Best of the Blog Hop this week.
i hope you have your dilemma all sorted…and about the soup, i think this is just what i need right now..it looks really gorgeous.
Oh wow that looks delicious! Beautiful pictures and great recipe!
This post poses such an interesting question. I never thought about birth control in such terms – although given the number of rough side effects I suffered testing various hormone options, I gave up really early on. I think that everyone should be free to do what is best for them. In my case, dramatic changes to my hormone levels has not been a tolerable option for me.
The soup looks good, garam marsala does wonders for dishes!
Love the idea of acorn soup with all the spices in it…perfect for this cold weather
Great pictures as always.
Go for the third Patty!
I’m not even going to begin to wade in on your contraception dilemma. Suffice to say, however, that I think we can’t always get everything right, and sometimes we have to make some compromises, but I believe that asking the questions is an important step to living consciously. All that aside, your soup looks beautiful.
Sue
Interesting subject patty. I like that you chose to talk about something different like contraception, but somehow tie it back to your lovely curried squash soup. I’d love to try that.