Sometimes. You Make Soup.

Sometimes you set out to make soup and realize that you don't have an immersion blender and you don't have your regular blender and you make it anyway. Sometimes you add and you make do and you stir and you taste and it's a beautiful thing.

Sometimes it doesn't all work out. Sometimes your plans of taking in a local music festival that everyone has been telling you about don't work out. Sometimes it rains all day. And the four walls seem very close. Sometimes only the littlest one naps and everyone needs you. Right now. 

Sometimes you get in a funk and it's hard to shake it. Sometimes you can play the Pollyanna game really well and sometimes, you just can't. 

Sometimes you decide to make soup. 

It's a longer process because the kitchen is outfitted with the barest of tools. 

Chop, peel, chop, peel. Roast. Stir. Taste. Stir. Simmer. Taste. 

The familiar routine is soothing. The smells fill the house with warmth and texture like no furniture or pictures ever could. 

Smiles and hellos are exchanged with a neighbor. Autumn rain becomes a friend, pressing the four of you together and you realize the gift you have been given. 

 Accompanied with piles of crusty bread, this soup is a perfect antidote to any day. Good or bad. 

Butternut Squash, Apple and Bacon Soup 
(inspired by this recipe)
Serves 2 adults, and 2 little girls with leftovers for another rainy day. 

Ingredients:
 1/3 lb bacon (more if you like bacon), chopped
1/2 onion, chopped fine
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cut into cubes
2 apples, peeled and cubed (I used a Gravenstein and a lonely Macintosh that was kicking around the fridge, for best results use a cooking apple)
1/2 c apple juice
Salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste

Method:

Peel and cube squash and apples. Toss with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and roast in a 400 degree oven until very tender. 

Meanwhile, in large soup pot, fry chopped bacon. Once bacon is nearly done, add the onions. Fry until they are translucent. 

Once squash and apples are tender, mash them with a spoon (or blender, if you have one), and add to the bacon and onion mixture. 

Stir in apple juice and enough water to make a thick soup, about 4 cups.

Let simmer with the lid off for about half an hour, stirring every once and while. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. 

Serve hot with a spoonful of greek yoghurt and lots of crusty bread. Rain and fog, optional. 

What do you do when nothing seems to be going well?