Yay for soup!

Helios loves boxes. I left out a box that held a case of seltzer and you can just see what happened....

I have many more pictures but ... oh, wait this is a cooking blog. Don't miss Helios's last minute debut in Weekend Cat Blogging over at The Hidden Paw. Well, the last cooking project I did was way back on Monday. I tried the Butternut Squash Leek soup from the latest Cooking Light. I really just love soup. My only issue with it is that it makes so much! It takes us a while to work through a six or eight serving batch of soup.

This soup was okay. It wasn't bad, but there are so many great butternut squash soup recipes out there. This particular one just didn't blow me away. You couldn't really taste the leeks, although I did think the roasted garlic was a nice touch. I of course used veggie broth, not chicken. So, a tasty soup that was quick to throw together (especially when you cheat and buy pre-peeled and de-seeded butternut squash) but probably won't be repeated.

Butternut Squash-Leek Soup
October 2006

Cooking Light's Notes - "I love my local organic farmers' market and like to cook with seasonal fare. I'm a professional organizer and include seasonal recipes in my newsletters for my clients. This was last winter's recipe." It's great as a side or a light main dish with a salad. -Shannon Simmons, Redding, CA

1 whole garlic head
4 teaspoons olive oil
6 cups thinly sliced leek (about 4 large)
4 cups (3/4-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 medium)
2 cups water
2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth (I used vegetable)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Preheat oven to 350°.

Remove white papery skin from garlic head (do not peel or separate the cloves). Wrap head in foil. Bake at 350° for 1 hour; cool 10 minutes. Separate cloves; squeeze to extract garlic pulp. Discard skins.

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add leek; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in garlic, squash, 2 cups water, broth, salt, and black pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until squash is tender. Place half of squash mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over the opening in the blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Pour pureed soup into a bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining squash mixture.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)

CALORIES 167(19% from fat); FAT 3.5g (sat 0.5g,mono 2.2g,poly 0.6g); PROTEIN 4.1g; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 144mg; SODIUM 351mg; FIBER 5.3g; IRON 3.3mg; CARBOHYDRATE 33.5g