pumpkin/squash soup

Another throwback! In fall of 2009, when I was beginning my cooking exploits, I was talking to my friend Andy online and he told me about a soup that he makes. I don't think we had squash available the next time I went to the market, so I just followed the recipe using pumpkin instead. At least as far as I remember. Anyway, the recipe looks good and what I ended up with tasted good. Plus it was my first foray into cooking homemade soup, which I ended up doing pretty frequently in the cold months. Inevitably, it pretty much cooks itself, tastes good, and makes a lot of food.

As you can see, I'm still trying to figure things out. This probably was one of the first times I used the oven other than to heat bread or cook asparagus (which I only knew how to do because my college boyfriend used to cook us dinner frequently once he graduated and lived on his own; I just sat around, teased him, and looked pretty). Eryn and I liked this soup; it was a bit sweet, but it still worked as a dinner.

In Morocco, our kitchen was pretty limited: cups, plates, bowls, silverware, three pots, one skillet, knives that I routinely bent/broke until Courtney sent me a nice set of three stainless steel ones (thank you!), and that's pretty much it. Did I mention measuring cups or spoons (or blenders or any other fancy gadgets)? Nooo. Because I didn't have them. So I used actual cups and spoons and eyed it. Recipes like Andy's were nice because I could just sort of estimate and it was fine. And since I had no choice but to measure imperfectly and just try it out, it gave me confidence when using formal recipes (like SK) to just do my best with what I had. If I was missing a spice or a particular type of cream, I just used what was similar (like in this recipe, I just mashed it up as much as I could). I estimated what a teaspoon might be or a 1/4 cup. The food generally turned out fine. Probably not perfect, but fine. It kept me trying things and experimenting, and now I'm rarely discouraged by a recipe because it looks difficult or complicated. I know to just do the best I can with what I have.

Andy’s Butternut Squash and Apple Soup
butternut squash (or pumpkin)
4 apples, quartered and cored (next time, I would maybe leave the skin on because it is so flavorful, especially if you do have a blender or don't mind chunks)
3 cups of chicken/vegetable stock (or water)
spices, cloves, olive oil
lemon/lime juice


Quarter a butternut squash and rub the exposed flesh with olive oil. Roast on a baking sheet in the oven until soft at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes. Quarter and core the apples and bake until the flesh is soft.

Let it cool, and scoop it out of the rind with a spoon into a big pot. Add ~3 cups of chicken or vegetable stock (to keep it vegetarian) or water, some spices, maybe a little cloves, salt, and a glug of olive oil. Let it simmer for about 15 minutes. Puree with a blender. You can stir in some acid when you serve it - either lemon or lime.