Fresh Sheet: Brush the snow off the grill for a smoky pumpkin soup

Soup’s on

This soup was created by Casper Fry sous chef Nate Sanford, who cooked in New Orleans early in his culinary career. Roasting pumpkin on a grill lends a smoky layer of flavor.

Smoked Pumpkin and White Bean Soup

From Nate Sanford, sous chef at Casper Fry in Spokane, Washington

2 cups white beans

1 small pumpkin (save seeds)

4 cups vegetable stock

6 ribs celery, diced

1 medium white onion, diced

1 fennel bulb, diced

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 bay leaves

2 cups heavy cream

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

Soak white beans overnight. Peel and halve the pumpkin and pull out pulp. Rinse and reserve seeds for roasting. Cut pumpkin into 1/2-inch slices and place on a grill using a mix of charcoal and wood chips for fuel. Roast until tender and set aside.

Cook beans in a pot with vegetable stock until soft, about 30 minutes. Strain beans and set aside, reserving the liquid. Saute celery, onion and fennel in oil until translucent, then add the pumpkin along with the liquid from beans. Simmer with bay leaves.

Remove bay leaves. Working in batches, puree pumpkin mixture, then return it to the pot. Add the beans and simmer a little longer, adding the heavy cream for the last 10 minutes of simmering. Check for seasoning, then add salt and pepper to taste, using about 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Serve with roasted pumpkin seeds as a garnish.

Culture club

Culture Breads are now available at Rocket Market.

Proprietor and bread-maker Shaun Thompson Duffy made the first delivery late last month. The wood-fired artisan loaves are made with grains from Eastern Washington. Duffy mills them himself just before he bakes. He uses the sourdough method for making bread.

His first batches for the South Hill market were oat-sesame, rye porridge and spelt. Loaves are $6.50 and can be found at the store, 726 E. 43rd Ave. Call (509) 343-2253.

On the web: www.rocketmarket.com.

Find Duffy on Instagram at culturebreads.

Henderson Dip regroups

When Henderson Dip returns to grocery store shelves, it will take a new form. The creamy condiment, which debuted three years ago as a pre-made spread, is becoming a dry mix.

Its creators are hoping the dry mix will be available by the Super Bowl. The last batch of the old version left shelves in early December.

Henderson Dip is a commercial take on the cream cheese-based dip that Mary Lou Higgins Henderson made for her Spokane family from the 1950s until her death in the mid-1980s.

In 2012, her daughter, Becky Fix – along with Fix’s daughter Taylor Greene-Kaiser and son Christopher Greene, all of Spokane – formed Cliff Cannon Foods and, in 2013, launched the Original Creamy Tomato and Onion flavor. They added Spicy Chipotle and Creamy Caesar in 2014.

Rosauers and Super 1 Foods had been carrying containers for about $5 each. Dry mix packets will sell for about half of that price and give customers more options. The dry mix can be combined with sour cream, Greek yogurt or silken tofu to make a creamy dip. It can also be used as a rub or in pasta and sauces.

Spokane Spice will manufacture and package the dry mix, which will be sold online and shipped globally.