A few years ago I was in Paris with some good friends. Believe it or not we still talk about the Butternut Squash Soup that we had at a restaurant called Les Papilles. You may not be talking about this recipe for years to come, but its memorable all the same, and it’s super simple to make! Here’s what you’ll need:
3 cups of cubed butternut squash (Many grocery stores have butternut squash already cubed in their produce section.)
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons of chopped red onion
3 cups of low sodium vegetable broth
3/4 cup of half and half or light coconut milk. (The coconut milk will give the soup a sweeter taste and make it vegan.)
Step 1. Small cubes of squash cook faster, so you may want to re-slice your cubes into 1/2 inch pieces.
Step 2. Cover a large sauce pan with a thin film of oil and saute the onions on medium until they are translucent.
Step 3. Add vegetable broth, cubed squash, half & half (or coconut milk) along with approx. 1 & 1/2 teaspoons of garlic salt and 8 cranks (or so) of pepper.
Step 3. Bring to boil then simmer mixture until a fork goes through the squash easily.
Step 4. In a blender or food processor puree mixture entirely. (If it’s too thick, add a bit more vegetable broth.)
*Garnish however you like or not at all. It’s great served with French Bread but what isn’t. (We put croutons and bacon on top - delicious!)
Serves 6
**My daughter’s best friend, Krysia, tasted this recipe and promptly added curry powder to it. Curried Butternut Squash Soup is quite common. If you’re so inclined, just add curry to taste (about a Tablespoon).
Looking back
Pickett’s Pearls has featured lots of yummy soup recipes, and of course they are all only four ingredients! Tortellini Soup, Southwest Soup and Chicken and White Bean Soup.
Dress Up Your Pumpkins
My good friends Jill and Lisa were the first ones to introduce me to these dressed up pumpkins. Not only are they precious, they are super easy to make. All you need is:
Any sized pumpkins (try to find ones that have no holes.)
Dried moss from a craft store
Various kinds of succulents (the least expensive way is to get a pot filled with multiple kinds.)
Hot glue gun and sticks
Scissors
Serrated knife
Step 1. If the pumpkin has a long stem, carefully saw it off, but not so low that it cuts the pumpkin in any way.
Step 2. Arrange some of the moss so that it covers a large portion of the top and use the hot glue gun to glue it down.
Step 3. Decide which succulents you want to use and cut the stems so that there is only a bit left on each bud (approx., 1/4 in. for baby pumpkins, 1/2 in. medium sized etc.)
Step 4. Arrange the succulent buds on top of the moss and glue each bud down. (If you have leaves that have come off, you can glue those in as well.)
Step 5. Spritz them with water every week or so. Lisa’s succulent pumpkins have lasted 2 years!! (She told me the other day that they must thrive in hot glue. Who would have thunk?)
** Did you know that you can take succulent clippings, just stick them in moist dirt and they will take root and grow? It’s like magic!
Fun Saying
I can always depend on my friend Lisa who was raised in Montreal to tell me funny French sayings. The latest one she shared was, “Revenons à nos moutons” which someone says when they want another to return to the subject at hand. The funny thing is that it literally means, “Let’s get back to our sheep.” Baaa!