roasted acorn squash and carrot soup

this is a great kickoff to a whole season of cold cooking.
a great introduction into the kind of cooking that you do in big, hearty, loving batches and freeze so that you will not go hungry on evenings that the chill sends you diving under the blankets, willing only to hit the Defrost button and wait, shivering in front of the microwave, spoon in hand.
the recipes for this month are going to be almost exclusively recipes of big batch cooking, of things that can be pre-made on lazy Sundays and frozen in individual portions, ready for your cold mornings that you welcome from the cruel and cozy bed that you leave with only the gravest reluctance.


i let this boil down for about 2 hours before i added the roasted squash, so by the time the squash started soaking up a bunch of liquid, it was very thick. then the immersion blender made it super smooth and tasty-like, and i diluted it with some mushroom stock and water, and threw in a bit of cream at the end, though only a tablespoon or two. all that to say that this should taste just as good if you let it bubble away unattended for no more than an hour, and i've sacrificed my time and energy into finding that information out for you. that's just how i roll.

chop 6 medium carrots, 3 cloves of garlic, and 1 onion in the food processor, add to a heavy-bottomed pot that's got some oil heating in it. add salt, pepper, (thyme if you have it), a bay leaf, and some curry powder (i added 1 tbsp., but this is definitely up to you). while this is softening, i turned the oven to 400 and started prepping the roasted stuff.

first of all, acorn squash can chop off your fingers. when you try to cut it in half to roast, get a kitchen towel underneath it and then try getting the tip of your knife in a spot and then banging something on the top of the knife to wedge it in. it doesn't take anything super-heavy; i used a metal measuring cup. then turn and bang away again. if you don't do this, and the squash slips and your cutting board suddenly has the tips of your fingers sitting on it, this is not my fault.

line a cookie sheet with foil and add the halved squash cut-side up (with seeds and goop taken out). i added a cut up parsnip and a cut up potato, but then ended up using them for something else. i'd say to add any kind of sad-looking vegetable in your fridge to this pan, just nothing that would get all juicy before the squash is done (maybe no tomatoes). you're going to roast this for about 30 minutes, but you flip so the skin is up at about the 20 min. mark. also, add a fair amount of oil here or everything will dry up. i like to add a nice pool of oil in the middle of the squash, then salt and pepper everything and throw it in.

add your chicken stock or whatever kind you want to use to the soup and stir around. when it gets to a boil in about 10 minutes, turn it down a bit and pour yourself something to drink.

when the squash is ready to come out (it looks kind of... hm... candy-like? i don't know how to describe it... it looks really deep orange-y and you can get in there with a fork and it kind of shreds) pull it out and let it sit. when it's cool enough to handle, remove the skin and start chopping up. if you're using an immersion blender (as you should), the size doesn't really matter, but if you're just going to mash it all up or something then maybe do your future self a favor and cut the squash up pretty small. "cut" is kind of a silly word to use here because it's, like, falling apart and squishy anyway.

anyway, throw the squash and other vegetables you roasted in for about 10-15 minutes, then kill the heat and blend. i like taking my life into my hands and so i blend in the still-hot soup pot in 1-second pulses. if things look too thick once they're all blended up, even adding a cup of water won't really hurt the taste if you're out of stock.

test for seasoning. i usually leave things pretty unsalty until the very end. it's the worst feeling when you spend all of that time on a soup and you oversalted at the beginning.

this is so, so, so tasty with a dollop of sour cream or a drizzle of half and half. any kind of cool creaminess is just... transcendent.