Butternut Squash Soup

Nothing says Autumn like a trip to the pumpkin patch. This year, Emily's company sponsored a trip to our favorite spot, Bauman's Farm, located in Gervais, OR. Bauman's is a bit of a local spectacle; it attracts folks from all over the state and has lots of attractions for adults and children alike. Our favorite part of the visit is the store, which carries all kinds of local produce and fall delicacies. Among those are an amazing and varied selection of squash and other fall vegetables.

Job number one after a visit is to make the first of what will normally be a number of batches of soup, usually beginning with our favorite: butternut squash soup. It's really easy to make and it doesn't really require a recipe. Just play the small set of ingredients to produce a soup to your liking; this is just you cooking.

Ingredients (not exact)

1 sm. to med. butternut squash
1 - 2 cloves garlic
4 Tbsp butter
3 cu. chicken or vegetable stock
salt, peper, cayenne pepper to taste

The amount of each ingredient isn't super important. If you want a thicker soup, use less stock and vice versa. If you like just a hint of garlic, use less; if you love it and don't mind offending your family and co-workers, use more (I, personally, don't give a damn--I work from home).

Peel, remove the seeds, and cut up the squash into equally sized cubes. I aim for about 3/4" to 1" pieces. The size isn't important... just make sure the pieces are roughly the same size so they cook at the same rate.

Melt the butter in a heavy pot over medium high heat, I use a Le Creuset dutch oven, but any heavy sauce pot will do. Add the garlic when the butter starts to sizzle. Don't brown it! Just let it "bloom", so keep it moving. Then add the squash and stir for about three minutes. Then add a cup or so of the broth and deglaze the pot. Add the rest of the stock, 1/2 Tsp. of salt, and black pepper to taste and simmer on med. low (just a very gentle boil) until the squash is very tender; roughly twenty minutes. You should be able to squash the squash (Ha!) with a fork with no pressure.

Once the squash is fully cooked, kill the heat and let the soup sit for around fifteen minutes. Then you need to process the soup. I usually use my cheap wand blender that I've had for more years than I can remember, but you can also use a food processor or blender (be very careful). Adjust the seasoning (salt and pepper) and add roughly 1/8 Tsp of cayenne. The cayenne pepper doesn't really add heat; it's just a small amount to awaken your taste buds. Trust me on this; you should add a pinch of cayenne to everything!

Serve with a dollop of creme fraiche or sour cream and enjoy. This is one of life's very simple pleasures.

~David