Tuesday, February 19, 2008

I love Alice because she hates hearts. I can't say I'm too fond of them either, but this one was a very pretty surprise.


I have had a few butternut squashes hanging around on my kitchen counter, from my dad's garden last summer. I see them almost every day around 5 when the kids are howling that they want dinner and my husband will be home from work in a few minutes, and I have nothing planned. By that time it is too late to cook winter squash because I need something fast to quell the ensuing mutiny.

Last Saturday the kitchen was newly cleaned, so I figured I should mess it up. I decided to cook up some butternut soup. I thought perhaps the squash would be getting old and dry by now on it's way to becoming a gourd. But as I split the first one open I was pleasantly greeted with an absolutely delicious smell. It smelled like a very sweet cantaloupe, and it's deep and bright orange color was like medicine for the winter dreary neurons in my head.

The heart shape was a bit ironic and made me laugh. Just a few days before my son had come to me and declared that he wanted to cancel Valentines day, and since I'm a scrooge at all holidays I heartily agreed. So we made signs that said, "Valentine's Day Canceled!" (my sons idea.) And then he said he was going out to yell it at the cars. I told him I didn't want him yelling at cars, so he agreed that he would just talk to them. After a few minutes of standing on the corner out in the cold he came in disapointed that no cars had come by. Later that day he got a package in the mail from his grandma with Valentine's presents, so he decided that it wouldn't be canceled after all.

5 comments:

Alice said...

Awesome post. It turned my awfully horrid day into a beautiful hopeful evening. We were addicted to squash in the fall. Haven't had it for a while. I should head down to the market and pick up some more. Any good ideas on cooking it! What a beautiful squash.

ps your son is very cool for wanting to cancel V-Day. I also HATE PINK!

bug girl said...

That was a pretty humorous post. I am glad I did not give up on you. I wish my car had passed by your kid when he was out in the cold protesting the commercial love. I would have honked.

The Bec-ster said...

I like squash best when it warm and has spices in it. Like nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon and salt. OF course all that needs butter too! Yum Yum!

leBolide said...

So should we assume that the meal itself was nothing blog-worthy?

Pam said...

The soup was really great the first day, but there's still one left over serving sitting in the fridge, so it must not have been the best soup ever. It was chicken broth, squash, potatoes, onions, carrots, chives, parsley, and a bit of honey. I didn't follow a particular recipe so I can't give you any proportions. It all got pureed in the blender after it was all mushy, and then I served it with cornbread.