Holla if you're hungry!

Last night I got in a cooking mood. Well, I actually already pre-cooked some squash to make squash soup on Sunday and didn’t get around to it so it was either now or never with those poor squash. But I knew I wanted a creamy smooth style soup. I’m actually not much for “chunky” soups. I like my soup smooth and easy, just like my girl, just kidding…about her not my soup preference. So one thing I love with acorn squash is honey. Oh man a baked acorn squash with butter and honey is divine! So I’m rambling around in my pantry and come up with what I think will make a good soup. I’ve learned over the years to be creative since I’ve lived in situations where funds were limited or the ability to just take a quick jaunt to the store was out of the question. I decided to go with the whole fall season theme which usually means a bit of nutmeg and honey, throw in some cumin, salt, and black pepper and there’s the spice mix. I caramelized onions and made a red wine reduction sauce, then finished off my ingredients list by roasting some garlic and adding in some fresh basil. It turned out better than I anticipated. I blended everything together nice and smooth and put in a stock pot to heat. At the last minute, I add a wee bit of whipping creme. It was so good. Sometimes I surprise myself with my cooking ability. I do love to cook but to do it right takes time. With getting older, I try to think about exactly what I want my next career to be. And sometimes chef comes up. But I watch these chef shows and see exactly how stressful it is. Plus I have a good friend who’s a chef and it’s been a bit hard on him to find good employment in our area. So, I think that’s just one of those pipe dreams that if you could choose everything about your dream, every detail….then I would choose to be a chef. But, I do love to just cook a good meal at home and watch my girls eyes light up when she takes her first bite. She particularly like the soup last night. Which I paired with cinnamon raisin toast. Sounds weird but it was good!
Speaking of cooking, I need to bring back my Sunday brunches. When I was single, I used to invite friends over to Sunday brunch after we partied Saturday night. It then took off and other friends were hosting it. It was fun and a nice ending to the weekend. I don’t know exactly why we haven’t done it in a while, well…yes I do…we’ve been super stressed and super poor. But I’m thinking that’s just what we all need. Some of my famous homemade biscuits and shitake gravy….damn, I’m so hungry.
So, tonight I will be making chili, crock-pot chili. I love making things in my giant crock-pot. Mainly because I’m kind of neurotic when I cook (imagine that) and I will watch a pot to death. But for some reason, crock-pots do the cooking for me so I can relax about it. Thank god chili weather is here! Ha, get it, “Chilly” weather? Mmm, ok enough about food. It’s almost lunch time and I think I have a date with some soup! Later…………………
P.S. If anyone wants the soup recipe, comment your request and I'll try to put it in recipe form for ya.