The Food

From 2009 I Made This

The produce here in Hastings is amazing. They grow local grapes, apples, citrus, nuts, and olives, to name a very few. Last weekend we made fajitas, and I got to go into the back yard and pluck a couple limes from the tree to put into the guacamole (made with fresh avocados from the farmer's market, naturally). There's a grapefruit tree next to the sidewalk on the way from Josie's place to the center of town. It's all I can do to keep from stealing a couple.

Josie had a bunch of vegetables that she bought at the farmer's market. This week I was tasked with trying to use all of them up. We made an Indian-inspired dish with cauliflower and potatoes, and a pasta dish with onions and green peppers. We also made Swedish meatballs with mashed potatoes and sauteed cabbage. The one thing we had not yet cooked was the squash, some overripe pears, and some walnuts. Therefore, squash soup. It was a fabulous dinner for a cold autumn night.

Squash soup with pears

Ingredients:

1 small butternut squash, cut lengthwise and seeded
1 med buttercup squash, cut lengthwise and seeded
1 onion, peeled and cut in half
2 very ripe pears, peeled and cored
3-4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup cream
1 tsp. nutmeg
toasted walnuts (garnish)

Directions:

Roast the squashes and onion by lightly coating with vegetable oil and placing cut-side down on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, until soft. Toast the walnuts in the oven for about 5 minutes while the veggies are cooking. When the vegetables are done, remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Scrape the meaty part out of the squash into a blender. Throw the onion and pears into the blender. Cover with chicken stock and blend until smooth, in multiple batches if necessary. Pour into a saucepan and add the cream and nutmeg. Heat until hot.

Serve the soup garnished with a drizzle of cream and toasted walnuts.