On our last week of the CSA pickup, we cringed when we saw the vegetables: more squash... more and more squash. We had to brainstorm what we haven't made yet with that dreaded, yet delicious, vegetable, and so we succumbed to soup, served with stuffed mushrooms and a side of kale and garlic.Slowly but surely, I've come to realize how genuinely easy it is to make soup (with a proper blender, of course). The formula is simple: sautee onion, add 1 lb of diced vegetables and garlic, add 4 cups stock, and simmer for as long as you can wait. This has worked with various vegetables we've tried - carrots, potatoes, broccoli, squash, and probably works with many others.

Easy Butternut Squash Soup (vegan)

1/2 onion, diced
1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb butternut squash, diced into small cubes
4 cups of vegetable stock
salt and pepper to taste

Sautee onion until fairly translucent, about 5 minutes, over medium heat. Toss in squash and garlic, some salt and pepper, and stir occasionally for 2 minutes. Pour in vegetable stock and cover. Once the soup has come to a boil, lower the fire and simmer for about 45 minutes, until the squash easily slips off a fork. Blend the soup using either an immersion blender or the dreadful regular blender technique (in batches, covering the top with a towel), cover and let simmer for at least another 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.


Garlic and Kale

1 clove garlic, minced
1 bunch kale, chopped and the thick part of stems removed
salt and pepper to taste

I think this is one of the healthier ways to cook kale - it was still bright green when the process was finished, meaning it was able to retain many of its nutrients. There have been many times when I've tried to just sautee kale, and it's come out brown and overcooked.

Back to the recipe... Steam kale for about 5 or so minutes - you want it to taste cooked but still have a crunch. Meanwhile, begin sauteeing garlic in about 1/2 a TBSP of olive oil, more if it's a non-non-stick pan like ours. Toss in the steamed kale and sautee for only a few minutes until the kale has slightly wilted, but again, has still maintained its bright color. Season with sat and pepper to taste.

We are big fans of the New York Times recipes - both the ones in the Magazine and in the Health section. With 3 types of squash, and little knowledge of how to cook them, we deferred to the newspaper to supply us with a great dinner.

It would be wrong to post the recipe on our site, but we can at least put the link!

Pasta with Roasted Winter Squash and Ricotta Salata

We're just becoming familiar with the idea of roasting, and the squash tasted amazing. Out of our 3 squashsters, we chose the butternut squash for this recipe. It came out perfectly tender, firm on the outside but melted in your mouth with every bite.

The greatest part about this dinner was the cost. The Ricotta Salata, which sounds like a hard-to-find expensive cheese, was less than $3 for a large block at Whole Foods. This type of ricotta is firm - unlike the usual type found in the refrigerated dairy section - and is very salty; you really don't need to use a lot for flavor. We had a lot of it left over after this dinner, and have been using it in several meals since. This meal would also taste just as good if it were made vegan, without the cheese.