Garlic Beef Squash Soup

Couldn't think of a better title. Be my guest and suggest one.

It is fun to grow different varieties of heirloom squash - just don't do it on a drought year. Like I did. Farmer's market provided one, unfortunately he wasn't able to provide the name of the variety, only a delicious recipe and description. I was sold.

It was a small round winter squash and had a smooth flesh.

Halve, peel, deseed squash and place cut side down in a dish with 1/2 inch of water. Broil at 400 degrees until really soft. (Don't know how long because I forgot it in the oven and took it out after the house started to smell)

This may not be a complete recipe because my memory is foggy - I don't pay attention to amounts typically or ingredients for that matter.

3 cups homemade beef stock
1 medium sweet pepper
1 medium yellow onion
1 small red onion
1 tsp minced garlic
sea salt and veggie pepper
~3 cups cooked squash
opt splash of apple cider vinegar

Eat chunky or blend smooth. I like to make simple soups and only heat up a bowl amount at a time and add different herbs and flavoring to each bowl. That way I never get tired of a soup.

The weather has been cooler this week and rainy so soup has been nice. Otherwise fresh veggie assortment, bacon, seeds, on fresh salad greens with homemade dressing (aka all-out fancy amazing salad) is my favorite for hot summer days.

Tried remaking my maple pecan bread recipe, but misread my own recipe and use whole eggs instead of just yolks! Used less maple syrup this time and added cinnamon and 1/2 more baking soda. Unfortunately with the eggs mistake I had to add regular all-purpose flour to make it work (too low on almonds to make more flour). It puffed up and made a nice big dense loaf. Oh well, an edible mistake.

The hard thing with beef broth based soups is that beef broth is such a dominant flavor. You have to work with it, you diminish its strength by working with and conversely bring attention to it if you try to mask it. Chicken broth is much easier to work with and a lighter flavor - pairs nicely with nearly all vegetables. My favorite soups have the fewest ingredients and taste more complex and delightful than a soup with a lot of seasoning or flavors.

Take care and enjoy!