Butternut Squash soup

Butternut Squash soup

So this week we bought the illusive butternut squash . I got the right thing this time. Mike made the soup that friend Ruth had recommended as a lovely tasty soup. Well she was quite right . The main ingredient was, and I bet you can guess it , butternut squash. Added were carrots , celery, onions, green apple , stock and various spices. The biggest problem we encounted was peeling the squash and getting the seeds out with a spoon. Ruth later told us the easiest way to do this was to partially bake the squash and then you can scoop the flesh out easily. Now why didn't we think of that?

We had invited friends Ruth and Ros to eat with us and to give us their opinion on this new soup. Both thought the soup turned out excellent and gave it a 10 plus grade. In fact , so did both Mike and I. It was smooth and creamy with a very nice taste. This is one we know we will try again. Just a great soup for a cold winter evening and not at all difficult to make.

I made bubble bread to go with it and then nearly ruined it by sitting outside drinking a pre dinner drink and chatting with our friends. Suddenly smells of burning drifted out from the kitchen and I rushed in just in time to save the bread from becoming “blackened” bubble bread. It complemented the soup very well and is so easy to serve as you just pull the individual bubbles apart from the main loaf.

To finish the meal I had decided to make Queen of puddings. This is a very old British recipe .I hadn't cooked it before and it looked lovely in the recipe book and not at all difficult to make. It had the advantage of using some items I had already in the pantry. There were breadcrumbs, sugar, milk and eggs which made the base which is covered in a blueberry jam and then served with a layer of meringue to finish. I felt it certainly looked better than it tasted. It has the texture of the bread pudding that I just don't care for. Mike and the ladies thought it was just fine and so that was the main thing.

We so enjoyed their company. Ruth has a million and one stories and can always keep the conversation interesting. Ros brought lovely fresh laid brown eggs and so we enjoying lovely meals with eggs that have bright yellow yolks. I don't think we will make egg soup though.