Voting, movie and squash soup

[spacebug]

The election judges said the line at my polling place was as short as it'd been all morning- go timing! I guess people were lined up around the block at 5am (judges came to open up at 6am, polls opened at 7am.) 15-20 minutes later, and hello's to at least five of my neighbors on the walk back to work, I was back.

I will be relieved when it's all over, when I can stop subjecting myself to poll coverage and stump speeches and campaign ads. I really, really hope that we know who will be president by the time I go to bed. I want it to be a landslide, if only to avoid any repeats of the BS in Florida last time.


Non-votey-notes:
S4 and I watched Stranger Than Fiction last night and enjoyed it a lot. He'd been putting off watching it because he's not the biggest Will Ferrell fan, which I can understand- I'm not either, really. But it was refreshing to see him in a role that wasn't overdone goofy, a lot like watching Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. And I love Emma Thompson. Usually even in movies I'm not into, I'll enjoy an Emma Thompson performance. And Dustin Hoffman, who I have no particular affinity for, or bias against, played his role with a wry comedy I really liked. Reminded me a little bit of a more subdued version of his role in I (heart) Huckabees.

I made butternut squash-apple soup last night. I'd never cooked butternut squash before. I learned that it is really difficult to cut and peel. Fortunately my efforts were rewarded, because the soup was very very tasty. And the squash was big enough to make another whole batch, should I choose. I may choose, as I'm not really sure what else to do with it.

Comments

[fayde.livejournal.com]

Mmmmm...butternut squash.

A cheater way is to slice it in half, seed it, turn it open face down in a pan with about 1/2 and inch of water in it and bake it until soft. Then you can just scoop out the insides. Or do like I do and buy it pre-made for a soup base. Probably less good for you, but fast and easy.

[birdfigment.livejournal.com]

I do the bake in the oven thing. Makes the squash so much easier to deal with. It should bake at about 350 for around 40 minutes, I think.

Also, spacebug, you should post the recipe! I make butternut squash soup on a regular basis when it's cold, but have never added apple.

[spacebug.livejournal.com]

Heh, the problem is I rarely follow one recipe to the letter- I look at a bunch online, adjust for what I have or don't, and then just kind of make a hybrid. From memory, this one was:

about half a good-sized butternut squash
3 cups of vegetable stock
tablespoon of olive oil
1 medium granny smith apple

One recipe also said to add carrot or onion, but I didn't have those, so I didn't. I boiled the squash and the apple in the stock until it was soft, then put it in batches in the blender, and added a little bit of nutmeg, cinnamon, and curry powder. It could have used some salt. (I salted after the fact but putting it in early would have been fine.) I've had squash-apple soup before- the tart apple is a good counter to the sweet squash.

[pygmybugs.livejournal.com]

Baking it like above works really well. If you want to cut it up, what I do at work (when I've got to dice 10 of the bastards) is cut it in half lengthwise, then cut it in wide slices. Then you can easily cut the rind off the outside of the slice.

It makes really good ravioli filling (with some nutmeg and a tiny bit of cayenne) in a nutmeg bechamel sauce. Awesome tossed in spices and melted butter (or marg, for vegan) and roasted 'til it's toasty and delicious, which is extra nummy with sweet potatoes and carrots and fennel bulbs. Although put parchment or something in the pan, because the sugary/starchy juices do NOT like to come off a sheet pan. I also like to grate it with the fattest holes on a grater and just throw it into stir-fries.

I love orange gourd-y things.

[fayde.livejournal.com]

mmm...now I'm hungry. Thanks for all the good ideas. :)

[spacebug.livejournal.com]

Yum! I love ravioli, but I've never made it from scratch. Or bechamel sauce. I should try it! Do you need a pasta roller, or can you get it thin enough with a rolling pin?

[saracura.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the ideas. I have a few squashs at home just waiting for me to devour them somehow.