Soup Season

I love having friends that grow vegetables. David, who I bowl with, brought us all tomatoes last Friday night. I sliced them up last night with some fresh mozzarella, basil, and balsamic on a bed of mixed greens for dinner, and they were delicious. I never had much luck growing tomatoes, but someday when we have a yard again I'm going to make it happen.

My friend Jim mentioned that he grew butternut squash this year but didn't really know what to do with them. I told him to bring me a couple and I'd make him (and me!) some butternut squash bisque.

Today was cool and rainy all day long, so after getting home from work and walking and feeding the dogs, I got to work in the kitchen.

The recipe I use is the butternut squash bisque recipe from allrecipes.com. The squash are a pain to peel (use a potato peeler) so I usually make a double batch. Two good sized squash are about the 8 cups peeled and cubed (large cubes) you need. The recipe calls for a bit of nutmeg, which I'm pretty free with. I also add roasted garlic and a good little bit of cumin. Salt and pepper liberally, stir in some cream or half-and-half and it's ready.

I made a turkey wrap sandwich to go with, and sat them on the end table in preparation for Dancing With the Stars (who knew Lance Bass could dance a viennese waltz?!). Coming back from the kitchen, Mr. Alex was caught making a play for my wrap, which he promptly dropped between the end table and the arm. So he spent a bit of time in the laundry room instead of curled up next to me on the sectional while I ate.

Drama aside, the soup was good!