autumn soup

a few weeks ago i was visiting my mom. she whipped up a soup in a matter of minutes before i got there that consisted of leftover baked buttercup squash. she said she added all sorts of random ingredients... onions, garlic, carrots, almond milk, cilantro, and i d o n ' t k n o w. seriously, this is how my mom cooks. she finds things and just throws them in. this is where i got that from! a little of this and a little of that. there's nothing better. :) i'm so glad that i picked up on so many cooking tips from her... what a blessing. i'm in absolute favor of this. i can't wait to pass myself on to wee little ones.

anyhow, the soup itself was slightly chunky. she didn't blend it. she said she actually mashed the squash between her fingers. nice touch. haha. it was divine...

growing up  i was not a fan of squash. the smell, the texture... it didn't appeal to me. i think the closest i'd get to the texture of a something that resembles a potato AND being sweet was a yam/sweet potato. but now, i'm more open. throw some butter, honey, and cinnamon on an acorn squash, bake bake bake and it's love(thanks drew's mom). my most favorite is spaghetti squash. add tomato sauce and a shit ton of parmesan cheese and i am pleased. then there's my moms soup. yum. so last week matt and i bought an organic butternut squash at the woolbright farmers market. it sat in our fridge for a while even though i knew it was going to be made into a soup. so finally, the other day i took it out.


directions:

1. cut it in half and scrape out the seeds and stringy mess.
2. lay both sides face down in a baking dish in less than inch of water and bake it for 45 minutes at 375'. (i try to avoid cooking with aluminum foil.) the squash is done when you can easily put a fork through the skin.
3. let it cool. then scrape it away from the skin. i put it in a blender and pureed it.
4. sautee 3 shallots, 3 garlic cloves, and about a teaspoon of freshly grated ginger in butter.
5. add 2 cups of water or stock(a little at a time) then the pureed squash
6. spice it up with cinnamon, red curry powder, salt, pepper, paprika, celery salt, and freshly grated nutmeg....
7. i made a rue of 1 tablespoon of butter to 1 tablespoon of flour and then added that to thicken the soup a bit.
8. i let it simmer for a good hour then added cilantro(my mom's flare) and a touch of milk. 
9. you can add some creme fraiche or something on top. matt liked eating it with avocado. whatever floats your boat. 
10. done and done. 

all in all it was delish. next time i'm going to use buttercup squash instead.