My Very Own Recipe: Butternut Squash and Mushroom Peanut Butter Soup

Butternut Squash and Mushroom Peanut Butter Soup
Gluten-free, vegetarian, could be vegan [if you're into that sort of thing...] All measurements are fairly approximate. I was just throwing stuff together that sounded good.

Giant butternut squash, peeled and chopped into two-inchish chunks
3 small onions, sliced up nice and thin
3 portobella caps, sliced up pinky-sized and then in halfish.
1/2 C peanut butter
3/4 C apple or pear cider
1/4 C milk
palmful of curry powder
palmful kosher salt
palmful ground black pepper [white or pink would be lovely, too]

I mix the seasonings together and keep them in a bowl next to the stove. You'll probably end up using all of it by the end.

Whack the squash chunks on a baking sheet with a couple teaspoons of olive oil, a bunch of the spice mixture. Roast at 350 degrees, stirring a few times, until knife tender. Turn off oven and let it chill while you do other stuff.

The other stuff: in a heavy pot with a lid or dutch oven, caramelize the onions in 2ish teaspoons of olive oil. Season with more of the spice mixture. Once onions are nice and browned, add the 'shrooms, a bit of the cider, and the milk. Add the rest of the spices, and let the mushrooms get all soft and squishy while you are doing more Other Stuff.

The other other stuff: In a large food processor, puree half of the squash, drizzling in some of the cider as you go to help things smooth out. Dump into the pot with the mushrooms and onions. Puree the second half of the squash with the peanut butter, again adding the cider. Once that's all smooth and creamy, add it to the pot and stir in the rest of the cider.

Let things hang out for a bit on low heat. If making earlier in the day, just leave it on the stove until you're ready to serve or take it to your potluck.

Goes really well with bread, or a grilled cheese sandwich with apple and honey.

थिस थिंग कीप्स ट्रांस्लातिंग इन्तो हिन्दी...

does that make any sense to anyone? I don't remember it translating directly into hindi before, but maybe I changed something?

HALLO. life is still grand. i cleaned up my kitchen last night, which was vastly satisfying. who knew that scrubbing the sink could make you feel so nice. i ran the dishwasher, i loaded it again. now I just need to come up with a better solution for my ridiculous amount of recycling. obvious answers would be a yellow bin of my very own, but i seem to be v. lazy about going out and getting one. I know they offer them on saturdays in various place, I guess I just need to find out when and where.

lalala bottles galore. they're all freaking yuengling, too, since don brings a case of the stuff to just about every D&D night. we do a pretty good job on them all, though, since there are about seven of us that play. still. lots of bottles. i am tempted to ask if my neighbor down the street wants any of them, as they have several green glass bottles on their fence top.

i'm also going to make a compost bin soon! imma start vermicomposting with some red wrigglers. i am v. excited, as i feel extremely guilty throwing away tea bags and fruit rinds and the like. now aloysius [palm] and louisa [pothos] and patience [pony-tail palm] will have delicious compost and casting tea to eat. i am also going to see if my neighbors kid wants to see how it's done. he's about five, so it should be fun activity.

in other things: i am waiting on tenterhooks for fall. i LOVE fall of all the seasons, and i want very much to be able to wear my scarves and my neat velvet jacket and some socks. not all the time socks, though, as they annoy me after a while.

it's doubly-nice because i am not responsible for any of the yardwork, so the anxiety of raking is removed entirely. HA. i am still relishing the fact that i dun do yardwork any longer. [in my first apartment, it was my duty as first-floor tenant. never. again.]

anyhoo. good times.