Fall soup

It's feeling more and more like fall in San Francisco. This morning, I woke up late and the sky was gray. I made my way to the Civic Center farmers' market, where all the vendors were wearing knit caps and scarves. I felt underdressed (and shivered a little) in my t-shirt and blazer.

I have a usual plan of attack when I'm at the market. I walk along all the stalls, just looking at what's available and what is looking best, then, I go in for actually shopping. But, it's a little tough to shop on Sunday mornings. It means I need to plan out my meals for the week and figure out if I'll be able to use what I buy before it gets gross. For foods that don't last too long, I either have to cook and eat them on Sunday (my Monday night economics class prevents me from cooking early in the week) or not buy them at all. Because of this, it means I usually end up just buying fruit.

Today, though, I had a plan. I was going to spend this cold, gloomy Sunday at home, cleaning all the dust bunnies from my house and making soup. And, because of the fall produce, I was going to make a butternut squash and carrot one. I picked up a three pound squash and a bunch of carrots, all for $4. I also bought some Asian pears, brussel sprouts, bok choy, persimmons, and two mini pumpkins for my office. I lugged my bag of goodies home and got to work.

I chopped up an onion and half of one left over from Scott's cooking last week. I sauteed the onions and a little bit of garlic in olive oil until they were soft and translucent. Then, I tossed in four carrots that I peeled and chopped and the round half of the squash that was also peeled and chopped (though not as easily accomplished as the carrots). I poured in Scott's left over chicken broth and some from a new container, added two bay leaves and a large (probably too large) pinch of dried thyme, sprinkled in salt and pepper, put on the lid, and let the soup simmer.

When the vegetables were soft, I pulled out my immersion blender (the best present ever!) and whirred away. My soup was too think--it looked like baby food--so I added more stock and whirred away again. I added more salt and pepper and some water (I added too much salt), and was done.

I had a hearty, healthy bowl of soup when I finished cleaning. It had a rich creaminess to it, even though there was hardly any fat, and was just what I was hoping for for a cold fall day at home.