The Next Best Thing
I dropped Meagan off at the airport this morning (that girl is always on one trip or another) and on my way back, I stopped by McDonald's determined to get some material for a blog post about the seasonal pumpkin milkshakes.
Apparently they will not carry them until October... I doubt this, because I've heard from several sources that they have been successful in attaining one. I will have to do a little more research on this one...
But, determined to taste something Fall-esque, I went home and made a butternut squash and cauliflower soup. The wonderful thing about this soup is that it's cheap to make (you probably have most of the ingredients at home - except the butternut squash, but that won't break any budget) and it's TASTY. You can skip out on the cauliflower if you like, or substitute the squash for pumpkin. You might even want to spring for a loaf of crusty sourdough with all the money you're saving.
Behold, Butternut Squash and Cauliflower Soup...
Apparently they will not carry them until October... I doubt this, because I've heard from several sources that they have been successful in attaining one. I will have to do a little more research on this one...
But, determined to taste something Fall-esque, I went home and made a butternut squash and cauliflower soup. The wonderful thing about this soup is that it's cheap to make (you probably have most of the ingredients at home - except the butternut squash, but that won't break any budget) and it's TASTY. You can skip out on the cauliflower if you like, or substitute the squash for pumpkin. You might even want to spring for a loaf of crusty sourdough with all the money you're saving.
Behold, Butternut Squash and Cauliflower Soup...
Ingredients
2 medium carrots, peeled
2 stalks of celery
1 medium onion
1 medium to large butternut squash
1/2 head of cauliflower
3 cups of chicken stock
salt
pepper
nutmeg (optional, but this is essentially Fall in the shape of a little nut)
Directions
Dice your carrots, onions and celery, the combination also known as your mirepoix.
why hello there ;)
Next comes the not-so-daunting task of dissecting your butternut squash...
Step 1: cut off the ends of the monster.
Step 2: Cut into three parts
Step 3: Stand each section up and using a sharp chefs knife, cut off the thick outer layer
Step 4: Cut the bulb end in half and scoop out all the seeds and nasty janx.
Step 5: Cut each section into uniform pieces and place in a bowl along with 1 tbsp water, cover and microwave for 10 minutes.
In a large pot, pour about 2 tbsp of oil on medium-low heat and add your mirepoix. Sweat on medium-low heat (make sure you don't brown it!) until the onions are clear, about 10 minutes. (It will be at this point that humans and animals will start entering the kitchen with the "what are you making???" look on their face... that mirepoix is magical stuff.)
Using your fingers, break up the cauliflower and add it to the pot and combine until it softens, another 5-10 minutes.
After the mirepoix and cauliflower are softened, add your butternut squash (that has been reduced to a pile of rather disgusting looking mush after doing serious time in the microwave) and season with salt and pepper (keep in mind depending on what kind of chicken stock you use, you may want to be a little conservative with the salt at this point).
It might look a bit disgusting, but it's supposed to. Keep in mind that it will all be blended into a smooth and creamy consistency.
Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Turn off the heat and let it cool for 10-15 minutes.
CAREFULLY attempt this next step. Using a ladle, scoop in a third of the soup at a time into a blender, and make sure you have a kitchen towel between your hand and the lid of the blender. Hot liquids tend to want to erupt into what looks like projectile baby vomit all over your beautiful kitchen cabinets... so just be careful.
Once all the soup has been successfully liquified, pour the creamy delightful-ness back into the pot and heat over low for 5 minutes.
At this point, you can taste and see if you need to add more salt or pepper, more chicken stock (if you think it's too thick) and this is where you would scrape your nutmeg over a microplane (or shake a little bit of it on) for that extra kick of Autumn.
Voila!
2 medium carrots, peeled
2 stalks of celery
1 medium onion
1 medium to large butternut squash
1/2 head of cauliflower
3 cups of chicken stock
salt
pepper
nutmeg (optional, but this is essentially Fall in the shape of a little nut)
Directions
Dice your carrots, onions and celery, the combination also known as your mirepoix.
why hello there ;)Next comes the not-so-daunting task of dissecting your butternut squash...
Step 1: cut off the ends of the monster.
Step 2: Cut into three parts
Step 3: Stand each section up and using a sharp chefs knife, cut off the thick outer layer
Step 4: Cut the bulb end in half and scoop out all the seeds and nasty janx.
Step 5: Cut each section into uniform pieces and place in a bowl along with 1 tbsp water, cover and microwave for 10 minutes.In a large pot, pour about 2 tbsp of oil on medium-low heat and add your mirepoix. Sweat on medium-low heat (make sure you don't brown it!) until the onions are clear, about 10 minutes. (It will be at this point that humans and animals will start entering the kitchen with the "what are you making???" look on their face... that mirepoix is magical stuff.)
Using your fingers, break up the cauliflower and add it to the pot and combine until it softens, another 5-10 minutes.
After the mirepoix and cauliflower are softened, add your butternut squash (that has been reduced to a pile of rather disgusting looking mush after doing serious time in the microwave) and season with salt and pepper (keep in mind depending on what kind of chicken stock you use, you may want to be a little conservative with the salt at this point).
It might look a bit disgusting, but it's supposed to. Keep in mind that it will all be blended into a smooth and creamy consistency.Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Turn off the heat and let it cool for 10-15 minutes.
CAREFULLY attempt this next step. Using a ladle, scoop in a third of the soup at a time into a blender, and make sure you have a kitchen towel between your hand and the lid of the blender. Hot liquids tend to want to erupt into what looks like projectile baby vomit all over your beautiful kitchen cabinets... so just be careful.
Once all the soup has been successfully liquified, pour the creamy delightful-ness back into the pot and heat over low for 5 minutes.
At this point, you can taste and see if you need to add more salt or pepper, more chicken stock (if you think it's too thick) and this is where you would scrape your nutmeg over a microplane (or shake a little bit of it on) for that extra kick of Autumn.
Voila!This stuff is great to freeze into portions for a quick lunch... honestly though, there probably won't be much left over... there are about 4-5 portions you can get out of this recipe and you'll keep coming back for more, trust me.
ENJOY!
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