Soup Weather

I was on a roll with 2 bitch-fest posts in a row. The HLDW* called me out on it last night, "Ummmm, just read your blog. Wow, two angry posts in a row, huh? What's that about?".

My response, "Huh? No clue".

The truth of the matter is that I've not really been all that angry lately - quite the opposite actually. Had a great Thanksgiving holiday and am looking forward to Christmas. The HLDW has a cold right now, but overall her health has been improving. Some budget pressures - nothing that can't be handled though - the HLDW is going to perform the wedding service for her best friend from college. He and his partner are getting married in Stowe, VT the weekend of December 10th so the HLDW has had to purchase a dress from the Vera Wang collection (Wang - heh heh heh), pay for the plane ticket, pay for the Inn, pay for the license to perform the ceremony, etc., etc. I can't get away from work so she is going it alone this time.

I think I've caught her cold. My rhino-like constitution usually shrugs stuff like this off but I'll be upping the water consumption over the next couple of days to flush it out.

Chilly here today - perfect soup weather - so I whipped up a batch of butternut squash soup tonight. Pretty simple recipe.

I saute a few cups of mirepoix (onions, carrots and celery) in olive oil in a large soup pot until the onions are translucent. Season with salt, black pepper and I like to add cayenne for a little oomph. 

Add several cups of diced butternut squash and let that saute for a few minutes with the mirepoix. I layer in another round of salt, pepper and cayenne.

Add stock (I use vegetable stock since the HLDW is a vegetarian but chicken stock works great) until the squash is covered. Add additional seasoning as desired. I like to add garlic powder, rosemary and some nutmeg. Also, add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and then lower heat and simmer for around 40 minutes or until the squash is very tender. Stir occasionally.

Remove from heat and use a hand blender to puree the soup until smooth. If you don't have a hand blender you can use a regular blender ... do a couple cups at a time.

I then add coconut milk to make it creamy. You can also use heavy cream ... but the HLDW is trying to stay away from dairy, hence the use of coconut milk. Heat gently and serve.

There you go ... a nice post full of deliciousness. Karma has been balanced.

I might make taco soup this weekend. Yum.

Yeah, it is good to be a cookin' Rhino.

*Hippie Liberal Douche Wife