It's 4 o'clock somewhere.

Here I sit on my front stoop supervising "the fruit goblin" strategically emptying his little tikes truck of an afternoon worth of rain water in a "mommy time out." It's been one of those afternoons where a few minutes to myself are non existent & the two year old 'tude has been in full force. Even the dog ganged up on me by counter surfing for some oatmeal muffins* I made for the neighbor with a new baby.

Today called for a a recipe that required a beer & a half, & clearly the other half is in my hand on my front porch while the short ribs braise. They were quite yummy & fresh ... Thumbs up Braised Beef Tacos, with beer! 

 ( * I pretty much love how you can have oatmeal based anything after having a baby & entitle them "lactation cookies" & claim they are to boost your supply for the baby. At least, that's my story & I'm sticking to it.) 

Butternut Squash Soup

It got cold this past weekend. Unseasonably cold. No, we did not get snow like a good number of you did but breaking out the down jacket & wellie socks in October is very out of the ordinary around here!

When it's chilly outside I always get a hankering to cook and bake and just be in the kitchen in general. This coming week is going to be crazy with our Junior League "holiday market." I'll be tied up through next weekend so I decided to stock up on a few things in the fridge for the badger & myself to "grab-and-go" this week. First up, butternut squash soup!

Here's what you'll need:

4 Leeks (white & light green parts only), chopped
3 Lbs of butternut squash, peeled & cut into 1" pieces
1 bay leaf
5 Cups low-sodium veggie broth (you can use chicken too!)
kosher salt & black pepper
1 tsp. "sweet and spicy" Tabasco sauce

Here's how you'll do it:

1. Place leeks, squash, bay leaf, broth, & pepper in a dutch oven. (If you don't have one, a large sauce pan will do!) and bring to a boil
2. Reduce heat to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Cook until the squash is tender, about 10 or so minutes.
3. Remove bay leaf.
4. I don't have a large food processor or a stick blender (which you could absolutely use) so I pureed the mixture in batches in my blender.
5. Stir in salt & Tabasco sauce to taste.

Enjoy!

I enjoyed this immensely, but I am a squash lover. The badger, he said he'd like me to try and roast the squash in the oven next time so it will be more caramelized. Are you a squashy person? How do you like your butternut soup?