squash? soup? yes!

i was once afraid of squash. very afraid. i let it pass by my plate every thanksgiving year in and year out. strategically seated adjacent to my aunt joanie, who was a notorious squash hater, it was easy to keep it moving right along as the serving dishes of vegetables made their way around the long dining room table. and thus i cheated myself out of the glory of squash for at least the first 10 years of my life. luckily, i am not the girl i was back then - and i say that for many reasons, my neglection of squash and other weird eating-isms just a small fraction of my many childhood regrets, let's just hit the tip of the iceberg and say there are a lot of pin-rolled jeans and curling iron bang mishaps i am a better person without. so, now, here i am, by no means perfect, but no longer getting up at 5:30am to shower, scrunch my permed hair, curl my bangs, and then shellac the whole affair in a crap ton of cfc-rampant hair spray, so i'm going to have to claim a significant degree of self-improvement. and i am proud to say that in my *maturity* i love squash and no longer believe that soup only comes out of a can. and those two factors made tonight's early bird venture in the kitchen possible.

it is late october. even in berkeley, california that means pumpkins, squash, gourds, squash, pumpkins and more pumpkins. edible, decorative and everything in between. so i decided to pick out a lovely butternut squash and make a hearty fall soup. it met with the tiger's approval, which is good because we will be eating it for days. soup is simple and fast and satisfying. and it seems no matter how hard i try to streamline a recipe, always makes a metric ton. the key to the success of this soup came in reserving about a cup of butternut squash and steaming it separately while the soup simmered so that i could mash it (using a potato masher) with fresh sage, fresh thyme, coarse sea salt and pepper. adding the mashed squash mixture to the soup thickened it and really distributed and intensified the flavors from the herbs, so it didn't matter that i didn't have the time or inclination to let it simmer for hours.

butternut squash, kale and white bean soup

4 cups vegetarian broth + 4 cups water

4 cloves garlic, chopped finely

sea salt

pepper

fresh sage

fresh thyme

1/2 onion, diced

1 butternut squash - peel & cube: 3 cups for soup, remainder set aside to steam & mash

2 cups chopped fresh kale

1 can navy beans

in large pot, bring broth, water, garlic, pepper, sea salt and some sage & thyme to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer.

add 3 cups of the cubed butternut squash and the diced onion, allow to simmer until squash is tender.

meanwhile, steam remaining squash separately.

once squash is tender, add kale and beans (including liquid), continue to simmer.

season simmering soup with sea salt, pepper, sage and thyme.

mash steamed squash with coarse sea salt, black pepper, chopped sage leaves and thyme. add to soup once kale is tender and cooked through.

stir. allow to sit for a few minutes before serving.

enjoy.