Suppen

Since it's been in the low 50's and our heaters are still not coming on inside the apartment, I've been in the mood for some soup. Yesterday I got a hankering for some butternut squash soup...I think because I've been seeing Styrian warty pumpkins in the store.

Went to my handy cookbook and found a recipe. I'm fairly new to cooking, so I did not realize that butternut squashes are bigger than footballs and as heavy as bowling balls. Dang. This was the only one in the store.



I had some trouble cutting that lug of a mug with my wondey chef's knife (our three-piece Shun knife set is one of the only wedding gifts we brought over and so glad we did). It also said to peel it. Do you know how hard it is to peel something with so many curves with a piece-o-scheiße peeler you bought at Ikea?

Well, it was worth it.

Even though it looked like we were making queso at first. Breaks my heart.

We didn't even need a blender like the recipe said. Good, we don't have one. It was soft enough to mush myself.

Some homemade wheat croutons and a little muskatnuss (nutmeg) and we were in business.


Recipe here. A preparation time of 15 mins. is a lie.

I also made vegetable soup last week (that I turned into minestrone by replacing the potatoes with white beans and adding pesto and parmesan like the book said) that I was making more to be healthy and wasn't expecting it to be great. It was delish. Better than this afterthought of a picture looks.



Vegetable Soup
To turn this soup into minestrone, simply replace the potatoes with one 16 - 19-ounce can of white beans that have been rinsed and garnish bowls of soup with Pesto and grated Parmesan. Serve this hearty soup with Crostini or garlic bread.

2 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, minced
2 ribs celery, chopped fine
2 carrots, peeled and chopped fine
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt
5 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
2 medium russet potatoes (1 lb.) scrubbed and chopped medium (for minestrone, substitute white beans)
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
Pepper

1. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-low heat until shimmering. Stir in the onion, celery, carrots, garlic and 3/4 tsp. salt. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are very soft, about 20 mins.

2. Stir in the broth, potatoes and tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

3. Off the heat, add the peas. Let the soup stand for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.

Test Kitchen Tip: Sweating the onion, celery and carrots in a covered pot over low heat for 20 mins. draws out their natural sweetness, enriching the flavor of the canned vegetable broth. You could make this soup with chicken broth, but we found that the vegetable broth, which is milder in taste than chicken broth, allows the delicate flavors of the vegetables to star.
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And, my favorite part about soups is there's always plenty of leftovers.