Wednesday

Summer Squash Soup ~ Creamy, Comforting and Healthy


Here I go again with another super easy 'no need for a recipe'
recipe. This is how I cook 80% of the time these days.
I don't do a lot of more complicated recipes much
anymore ~ I think I got that well out of my system while in my 
20's and 30's.  And that was, ahem, a 'while' ago . . .  :o)


Photo: Hirt Seeds

Frost and freezing temperatures will soon be upon us, so
this week we harvested the last few summer squash ~
mostly yellow crookneck. We are promised a few warm
days before October weather really kicks in, but today
is a chilly one so I decided to make some soup (again.)

You may have made this or something similar before, it's
embarrassingly simple to make but I love it for that reason
and it tastes so good.


And to go with: 
(not low fat...) 
But we're being so good with the soup, we
can afford it, right?!


Cheese Toasts

I always like to serve a little "something" alongside soup,
this time cheese toasts made from a few slices of baguette,
I mixed some grated swiss and parmesan cheeses with a tiny bit of 
mayonnaise to moisten, then stirred in some fresh thyme leaves.
Just bake or broil until the cheese is hot and bubbly.
Garnish with a few more fresh thyme leaves if desired.



To make the soup:
Wash and trim the stem and blossom ends from the squash, 
chop into chunks, put in a large pot with your favorite stock or
broth (I used organic chicken stock from the carton), use
vegetable stock if you want to make it vegetarian friendly.
Bring to a boil, partially cover the pot and allow to simmer
until the squash is very tender, you can add more stock
if necessary. (You're going to need more later when it's 
time to blend.) This time I also added a peeled, thinly sliced
carrot just for a little extra nutrition.

While the squash is simmering saute a chopped onion
(or a half an onion if you prefer) in a pan with little butter or
oil of your choice.  Just cook them enough to make
them tender and translucent ~ to save calories I
usually add a little chicken stock or water to the pan
rather than additional butter or oil if they seem to be drying out
during cooking.

Once the squash is very tender add the sauteed onion
and more stock to a blender container (I use the Vitamix just on
the regular blend mode) whiz until the mixture is
velvety smooth. You may need to do this is a couple of
batches, and do be careful if the ingredients are hot.

A food processor would probably be my second choice
if you do not have access to a blender. 
You could probably use an immersion blender, 
but it will take a lot longer,
 
and the mixture will not be as creamy.

If you're feeling decadent you can add some milk,
half & half, or heavy cream while blending.
 I think it's just delicious without.

Add salt and pepper to taste. May be made ahead, simply
reheat when you're ready to serve.



This time I toasted a few hazelnuts/filberts, rubbed
them in a fresh kitchen towel to remove the pesky brown skins, 
then chopped coarsely and added a sprinkling of chives as a garnish.

If you have a chance to try it, I hope you like it as
much as I do.

Thank you for stopping by, and for leaving any
comments you would care to share ~ they always
make my day!

~mari

8 comments:

  1. Oh yum, Mari! You make the best soups. I have your trio of soups on my Pinterest board, You are very talented and so creative!

    ReplyDelete
  2. A fabulous early fall soup...Love it!

    Velva

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh I love those dishes and I would love to have some of that soup...and the bread, my oh my it looks delicious...Phyllis

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  4. I love croutons etc with soups.. and some salads..they are the icing on the cake...I went to Home Sense with my daughter this week..and the green was back:)
    They are so pretty ~
    You are talented and very creative..:)Chris is spot on.

    ReplyDelete
  5. nothing better then dunking soup, made your tuscan soup the other night, still nursing bowls days later, its delish and ready in minutes, which was a good thing since my planned dinner had gone moldy on me! this looks great too, been ages since i made squash soup, love it with loads of thyme~ the roaring winds are back, perfect for cozy soup nights~

    ReplyDelete
  6. Looks amazing...we seem to crave lots of soup lately too!
    Will be making this soon! Gorgeous pics....love the looks of those cheese toasts as well.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Mari, Squash never looked so good! Beautiful and healthy too~ of course I want SEVERAL pieces of cheesy bread to go with :)

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comments, friends ~ they make my day!

A Sampling of my food . . .

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