Lenape Sunset

The morning began with rain but ended on a higher note with clearing skies. I spent a few hours on rhe phone with a Garmin representative trying to sort out the issues with my navigator which has been acting sketchy for quite some time. All is well now.

So, after doing laundry and making the most delicious butternut squash soup, I wandered over to the Lenape pond just in time to catch the brilliant sunset. It was good to get out of the house!

Hope you all had a pleasant day!

Butternut Squash Soup
1 medium butternut squash halved and seeded
2 Tbls safflower or sunflower oil
1 large leek - trimmed and chopped
1 bay leaf
a few peppercorns, 4-5 allspice berries (whole or crushed)
2 1/4 cups vegetable stock
2 to 4 cups of water (depending on how thick you like it - I used 3 cups)
3/4 cup (60 g) pine nuts

Put squash face down into an oiled baking pan and place into a 400 degree oven. Roast for 45min - 1 hour or until tender. Remove from oven and scoop out the flesh, discarding the skin.

Put oil into a saucepan over low/med heat. Add leeks, bay leaf, peppercorns and allspice and saute until leeks begin to soften. Add the squash, stock and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce flame and simmer for ten minutes until leeks are very soft.

Meanwhile. toast the pine nuts in a frying pan until they are slightly golden brown. Let cool and process them in a food processor until smooth, adding some soup water until all the nuts are completely mashed up.

Remove the bay leaf from the soup and transfer all into a blender or food processor. Add the ground nuts and blend until smooth. Return the soup to the saucepan to reheat.