did someone say SQUASH!?

ah, autumn is upon us here in the NW of Ontario. It barely made it past 15C today and the leaves are already beginning to crisp on the edges and flutter to the ground. This makes me sad for only 1 reason...it means it is September and i will be 30 in less than a week. Ok ok, not the end of the universe, the real reason it makes me sad is because it means winter will be here all too soon. I used to say i loved NW ontario after living in the SW of the province for the first 24 years of my life....but now as i get older and i realize how much i miss the long drawn out days of autumn and the warmer nights of winter, that they endure down there, i realize i could probably put up with the sweltering summers simply for the longer autumns, the longer growing season, and the ability to have my olde english rose garden that i have always longed and dreamed of owning. Southern Ontario, you might be more polluted and crowded, but you have your strong points, and i think if we find the right house in the right locale where i can't see my neighbours and i can't hear a highway, i think we may just find our roots and come home to you.

Ok so today's adventures in the kitchen involved my delicious curry fall squash soup and some delicious no bake chocolate peanut butter oat cookies.

As for the soup, i originally used a recipe to figure out how exactly to make the soup. Now its more of a trial and error each time i make it. Sometimes i use carrots, sometimes i don't. the basics of it are as follows.

halve an acorn squash (i imagine you could use a buttercup also, i use always seem to use acorn) remove the seeds. next i place each half on a sheet of tin foil while the oven heats to 350F I put about 1 tsp of butter in each half and liberally sprinkle them with either cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice  and then yellow curry. Depending on how "hot" you like your foods, gauge how much curry you might like to use...and remember, you can always add more later.
wrap up the halves and place on a cookie sheet and let them oven roast for about 45-60mins. I do this to A) make my house smell like autumn, and B) it makes removing the rinds oh, so much easier.
While that is going on you can get everything else ready. I chop up about half an onion and sautee it with butter in the bottom of my soon to be soup pot. I usually use about 1 handful of baby carrots and 2 medium sized potatoes. (any colour flesh is fine) tonight i didn't peel the taters as i used superior golds and they have a nice thin skin. mmm fiber! chop up the potatoes so they cook faster. Next either use a carton of veg or chicken stock or make some. Careful if you make it...too much powder means yucky salty soup. I've learned this the hard way. i now make my stock separate and then add it, ensuring it tastes ok. Now comes the whole how thick do you want your soup to be step. if you prefer a nice thick almost baby food like soup texture (we do! it stays on bread better!) then only use enough stock to cover everything once the squash and veggies have been added to the pot. If you want it watery then add a bit extra. I would say for 1 squash and 3 med sized potatoes (no carrots, didn't have any) i used about 850ml of stock. once the squash is done roasting you can remove them from the oven and either let them cool or as i call them use your working woman's hands and handle them hot-ish LOL...jackson always freaks when i do things with my bare hands and they are hot. Remove as much flesh from the skin as you can with a spoon/knife and add to the soup pot, then add carrots/potatoes and cover with as much stock as you desire. Once it is at a nice simmer let it cook until everything is nice and soft. If you find it doesn't have enough curry/cinnamon etc add more! once its all cooked, i use a hand blender to puree the soup into a delicious golden mess of flavour. Serve hot with sour cream or whatever you like, and some nice fresh bread. I'd say this is one of our most cherished soups, we make it year round, but since we went to the fair yesterday and bought 3 fresh local squash, the fall is most def. the best time of year to make it. I might try making squash filled ravioli next week...stay tuned!

goes great with a nice panini for a warm filling lunch!