Since we are off topic already, I will offer, as a conciliatory gesture, my recipe for ultra-quick butternut squash soup, which has been refined for some time and is now requested quite often by friends:
Serves: 4
Total time to prepare: 15-20 mins
Ingredients:
Two butternut squashes
Two cloves of garlic
One medium sized mild onion
1/4 cup butter or olive oil
1 cup half & half (or milk if you prefer)
fresh cilantro
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 cup chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
optional flavours: cardamom, curry powder
N.b. you will need a blender, a medium sized pot, a microwave and a saute/frying pan. The microwave is the key to banging this out very quickly.
In a pot, dilute the chicken broth approximately 1:3 in water and begin bringing it to a boil. Peel the squash, cut it into 1-2" sections and discard the seeds. Microwave the squash for ~3 mins or until fairly tender; alternatively, you could bake the squash until it begins to soften and (even better) has slightly roasted brown, but this procedure adds 10+ minutes.
While the squash nukes, peel and cut up the onion and garlic. Use as much garlic as you wish but I aim for about 1-2 tsp of cuttings.
Afterward softening the squash, transfer it into the boiling broth/water mixture. In a saute pan, saute chopped onion and garlic in butter... both should be permitted to brown slightly. Once sauted, add the almond and allow the flavours to mingle under low heat while the squash softens further in the broth. Combine all ingredients (should take about 5-10 minutes of boiling), and transfer all nonliquids to blender, blend them thoroughly and transfer back to the liquid. The consistency should now be quite soupy.
You can now add the half & half, salt and pepper to taste, and consider further spicing as you wish. I typically go in one of two directions with the final spicing: cardamom for a more muted and traditional taste, or curry powder and white pepper for more zing. Pass the soup through cheesecloth if you want to be fancy, but I normally leave it with a bit of small chunks. Garnish with fresh cilantro (not the stems, just the leaflets).
N.b. you can substitute carrot for the squash; in this case you may wish to add 1/4 cup of orange juice to sweeten the broth. Adding ~ 1 tsp fresh ginger to the saute mix produces a really hearty, wonderful carrot-ginger soup. I do not recommend ginger if you go with butternut, however, the flavour of the squash is too subtle for it. Butternut is also too subtle for cinnamon or nutmeg, in my opinion, cardamom is my preference.
rolleyes
