Curried Butternut Squash Soup

I first made this soup in early fall 2011 when we were still eating meat. I used bacon and bacon fat which added a lot of depth, so I had to figure out how to cut the meat but keep the intense, rich flavor. Adding curry powder and nutmeg did the trick. We had two medium sized butternut squashes and a few sweet potatoes from our visit to the farmer's market last weekend. I actually got the curry powder there too! We adore the Farmer's market for the fresh, seasonal vegetables and the great prices! Support your local farmers and make this soup! This recipe makes a lot of soup, but it freezes well and is perfect for thawing out a quick dinner.

2 medium butternut squashes
2 sweet potatoes
Olive oil
3 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 cups half and half
2 cups water
1 chicken flavored bouillon cube
Salt and pepper to taste

Skin the squash and sweet potato and cut into chunks. Drizzle with olive oil and toss in a pan until all pieces are lightly coated. Don't use too much or the soup will be oily. Roast the veggies at 400 degrees, tossing every 10 minutes, for about 40 minutes or until tender. If using an immersion blender, add veggies, half and half, bouillon and water to a large stock pot on medium-low heat. Otherwise, use a food processor. In both cases, blend until smooth. Then add curry powder, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

This soup is always better on the second day, so I like to make it ahead and have it for lunch/dinner the next day. And I freeze a big batch to thaw and serve for company or just for a yummy treat since this is an impressive dish. Enjoy with Trader Joe's Chilean Chardonnay for $4.99. Rich, creamy, a little fruity all for a great bargain!

Wine is to food as Pedro is to Napoleon

One just isn't as dynamite without the other.

We were having a hard time filling an entire blog with wine reviews for a few reasons. One, wine costs money and with a one year old in daycare and a husband back in school full time, money is not something we have an overabundance of. Two, I am determined to get healthy this year and I do tend to have an overabundance of weight, so the goal is no school night drinking. We recently became loose vegetarians (can't give up seafood and love cheese to much) so we are trying all kinds of new recipes. So, we are going to combine our two passions and go at this from another angle. We'll be reviewing lots of food recipes and throwing some wines we love in there too.

Our passion is food. Now, we love to drink while making and eating it, but creating something unique and delicious is the most gratifying thing. I personally take pride in the fact I can open the refrigerator or pantry and whip up something pretty dang yummy from whatever we have on hand. I'll be sharing some of those off the cuff dinners we enjoy and some recipes we've found that turn out particularly well. We usually tailor things to our tastes and very rarely follow a recipe to the tee, so we'll make note of any additions or deletions.

Well, that's the scoop for 2012, hope you enjoy!