summer's over, hooray for fall!

when i got to the market on sunday morning i walked past iron creek as i always do but something was different. the tables were not lined with tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce but instead something glorious was there: SQUASH! and SWEET POTATOES! and decorative baby pumpkins! that's right, friends. fall is here.

i am so excited. i cannot wait to eat stew and soup and squash and delish fall foods.

i got a big butternut squash, an acorn squash and two sweet potatoes. (also jane at seedling gave me a bottle of apple cider and that's fall too!) i also got sunflowers! my house is so fall.

after work raul and i had to run errands including replacing tricia's book that i borrowed and destroyed and getting pastry bags - see cream puff post. (i also ended up getting a yellow 3-cup food processor - cuisinart! on sale!

it started to rain and it got all scarf-ish outside so i knew it was time for butternut squash soup.

1 onion, chopped, pretty finely
2 tbs butter
1 lrg. butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped into 1 in chunks
6 cups of chicken stock
salt, pepper and nutmeg

in a large pot melt butter and add onions. sautee until translucent. add stock and butternut squash chunks. boil until chunks are tender. with a slotted spoon remove the chunks and put in a blender (or food processor if you have one that's bigger than 3 cups...) puree the chunks and put them back in the pot. whisk the squash back into the stock and onion mix until it's consistent. season with salt and pepper and nutmeg. ** careful with nutmeg! only use a tiny bit. i used two quick shakes. and always taste it before you add more. nutmeg is the silent killer of food - see beet cake post** put back on low heat until you're ready to serve.

my mouth is watering right now. i'm going to get a barrel for my kitchen where i can store all my squash and potatoes for the winter so i won't have to eat anything else until spring! yes. i am excited.

stay dry, chicago.

love,
keighty