Cooking Butternut Squash

My favorite way to eat butternut squash is as a soup.  Here is my recipe.

Butternut Squash and Carrot soup

1 small to medium butternut squash

2 cups thinly sliced carrot (4 medium)

3/4 cup thinly sliced leek or chopped onion

1 tablespoon butter or margarine

2 cups chicken broth (vegetable broth is quite acceptable)

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 cup half-and-half or light cream, or milk

1. Cut squash in half and remove seeds.  Put seeds in compost pile if you want volunteers in your garden next season.  Put it in a baking pan with about a half inch of water and cover loosely with aluminum foil. Bake squash at 350 degrees until it is tinder.  Let cool and peel away the skin.  Dice into chunks and set aside.

2.  Saute onions and carrots in butter in a medium saucepan until they are beginning to be soft.  Add squash, pepper, and nutmeg.  Blend until smooth.  If using a blender do only one cup at a time.  The mixture is hot and there is a possibility of being burned if one is trying to do too much at a time.  I use a hand held blender which I find very suited for cream soups.

3.  Add cream or milk and chicken broth and gently heat.  Serve at once and ENJOY!

Butternut squash is low in fat (until you add the cream) and very rich in vitamins.  When stored in a cool place (not freezing), it will last all winter.  Your family will never go hungry when you grow butternut squash.