Baked Butternut Squash Soup

I made a pot of this great soup during our recent arctic weather. I love the combination of sweet and savory. It's really versatile and can easily be adjusted to a vegetarian or vegan diet. Enjoy!

Step one:
Quarter the squash. Scoop out the seeds. Turn upside down onto parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes, until soft.

Step two:
Remove from oven. Let cool enough to handle. Scoop the pulp from the skin and place into soup pot.

Step three:

Into soup pot, add one quart chicken or vegetable stock, 1 Tbsp. butter (optional), 1/8 tsp garlic powder, 1/8 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp dried thyme, and a few sprinkles of black pepper.

Smooth together with immersion (wand) blender. Heat gently (do not boil). Adjust seasoning as desired. (The broth has enough salt in it for me.)

Step Four:

Ladle into soup bowls and garnish as desired. Options include bacon bits, sour cream, etc. Serve with warm crusty rolls or bread.

Stay warm!

Feet of Firsts

New techniques and a bit of a review of Noro yarns.

During a recent trip to my LYS, I picked up a couple of skeins of Noro Silk Garden. I had heard many folks marvel over this yarn and decided to give it a try. My first impressions were mixed. The colors are amazing. The hand is rather rough and it seems to be full of vegetation. Oh, well. I was up for something new. I chose colorway #252; blues, greens, black and gray.

When it comes to knitting socks, I'm more of a traditional kind of girl. But, since I was in the frame of mind to try new things, I also decided to use some new-to-me techniques. Looking through many of the toe-up methods, I chose to use Judy Becker's Magic Cast-on...I love it!!! (Check out Cat Bordhi's video.)

Another technique I hadn't yet used is the short-row heel. I followed instructions by Kim Salazar. It went well, but I definitely need to practice this one.

I finished my first sock and was feeling pretty good about it. I started to rewind the second skein so I could begin with the same color at the toe. Arrrrrrggghhhh! A huge knot hidden in the center of the ball totally ruined the flow of colors.

Since this happened, I have notice a real dichotomy among knitters where this yarn is concerned. One camp will defend it no matter what stating the knots are part of its charm. The other (which I think I lean toward) maintains that there is a better way to connect breaks during spinning. I am sure there are many factors involved at the factory of which I am not aware. However, as a spinner, connecting breaks and blending colors were some of the first techniques I learned.

In any case, I "cut and pasted" my skeins together so that my socks were almost matching. I'm pleased with the end result. Now let's see how they wear!

Here's a simple recipe for my socks: Use size 5US double-point needles.