Fall and Winter Soups

During a recent conversation with Gayle Bailey, she asked me for my recipe for my squash soup.  I told her that it seems to change as to what is in my fridge - as all my soups do.  To explain this I have to go WAY back - all the way back to my college days.  I dated a guy that had been stationed in Germany when he was in the military.  He fixed an egg dish for me and said the German name for it, it translated to "farmers' breakfast."  He explained that German farmers are very frugal and the dish changed as to what they had to use up or what they had available.  It has two basic ingredients: eggs and potatoes, but the rest changed as their supply changed.  I liked that idea and continued to make farmer's breakfast for our family and transferred that frugal idea throughout my cooking.  As I grew in cooking experience, I found it worked for soup very well.  

As fall sets in, I make sure that I always have soup basics on hand - they are in my cart each time I shop so I don't run out.  They are: celery, onions, carrots (or other root veggies) and broth.  I purchase chicken, beef and most importantly veggie broth.  I have to look for the NO MSG broth, but it isn't as hard to find as it used to be.  As long as I have these items on hand, I can throw soup together with just about any other ingredients, kind of like the children's book Stone Soup, by Ann Mcgovern.

In our home, we are meat eaters.  Therefore, we always have meat leftovers and putting them into soup taste better than just reheating the meat.  But we love veggie soups too and butternut squash soup is one of our favorites.  Now I can go back to Gayle's request:

I don't have the typical blog photos showing step by step prep; but I do have a couple photos that relate.  Depending on the number of people you are feeding, this basic recipe makes about six servings:

Ingredients:
1 large butternut squash
1 acorn squash (I find that if you mix squashes the taste is better.)
2 carrots
2 stalks of celery
1 large onion
2 - 32 oz boxes of veggie broth (Or I add my own broth from cooking meat and/or veggies.)
Salt, pepper and herbs to you liking  - I use salt, pepper and a home-made herb blend (oregano, marjoram, basil, savory, garlic, thyme, rosemary, and sage).
Water as needed to make it the consistency you want, once the soup is blended, sometimes it needs a little thinning.

Optional Ingredients:  Here is where your leftovers come into play, you can add:
*Meat - if you do, replace 1 box of veggie broth and 1 box of either chicken or beef broth.  You may not want to blend the soup if you add meat - I usually leave it chunky.
*Other veggies - root veggies go well together, so you can throw in parsnips, turnips, etc but other veggies work like cauliflower and broccoli.
*Milk, cream, sour cream, cheese, etc go well in this soup too depending on whether you want a cream, sweet, or a savory soup...I've done all three.  With cheese, add 1/2 cup shredded at a time and taste to see if you need to add more as the flavor can overpower.  I try not to add too much cream or the calories start to add up.  Add any of the dairy items at the time you are blending the soup!

The best thing is to just enjoy the outcome and most important thing is to remember what you did when it turns out wonderfully, so that you can do it again next time you have those ingredients on hand.

Process:
Start by roasting the squash.  Oil an edged cookie sheet with olive oil.  Cut the squashes in half, scoop out the seeds and stringy pulp.  Turn upside down and roast at 375 - 400 degrees, until tender, about 50 minutes - see photo below. While that is cooking, cut up onion, celery, and carrots (or other veggies).  Saute them over medium heat in either olive oil or butter, whichever you choose for about 6-10 min, making sure they don't burn, but you want them nicely brown, which will add flavor.  Now, add the broth and keep it heating until it comes to a boil.  Turn it down to a simmer while you wait for the squash to be finished.

This is actually pumpkin, but the process is the same...this was just too big to cut just in half

After the squash is cooked, scoop out the meaty pulp with a big spoon and add it to the broth and veggies. If you have uncooked additional ingredients, add them now.  Bring the soup to a boil, turn it down, and let it simmer for as long as you need it to; I usually let it simmer for about 1/2 hour.

If you have pre-cooked ingredients, add them after the soup is finished simmering- just to reheat them. 

When your soup is ready, scoop it into a blender and blend - BEWARE - hot soup has been known to blow lids off blenders - be careful.  I usually blend it 1/3 at a time, just for safety.  If you want to add cheese, cream, or milk do it at this time. Once you blend it all, you can put it back into the pot.   It's now ready to serve.

Here is a photo - again, not butternut squash soup but you get the point.  This basic soup is pretty easy and it is one of the best fall meals that you can make.  With soup and and nice crusty warm bread and butter, who cares what the weather is outside - you're warm on the inside!

ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!