Great looking soup Bobby! Love the pictorial. I always thought my butternut squash soup was good until I tried my SIL's. She adds curry. Clive thinks he hates curry so I never would have done that but he gobbled up the soup and said it was the best he ever had. I made my SIL promise never to tell him about the curry.... ;)

Not sure if I have a favorite - probably New England Clam Chowder, but I never make that. Yesterday I made minestrone, and here is the recipe I used: Minestrone Soup Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 cup minced white onion (about 1/2 small onion) 1/3 cup minced celery (about 1 stalk) 2 chopped zucchinis, chopped 2 teaspoons minced garlic (about 2-3 cloves) 2 cups water or vegetable broth 2 tsp vegetable soup base (if broth is not used - dissolve in the 2 cups water) 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes (or whole tomatoes pur�ed in can) 1/4 cup carrots, shredded 2-4 tablespoons minced fresh parsley 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon dried basil 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme 1 to 1 1/2 cups water or vegetable soup base 1 to 1-1/2 tsp vegetable soup base (dissolved in the water, if broth not used) 2/3 cup small shell pasta (orzo, or similar) 1-3/4 cups cooked red kidney beans, drained* 1-3/4 cups cooked small white beans or great northern beans, drained* 2 cups fresh baby spinach (optional) 2 tbsp tomato paste or 1 tbsp tomato powder salt, to taste, if soup base is not used Directions: Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot. Saut� onion and celery in the oil for 4-5 minutes or until onions begin to turn translucent. Add the zucchini and garlic and saute a couple of minutes more. Add vegetable broth to pot, plus tomatoes, carrot, and spices. Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer for 20 minutes. Add additional 1 cup hot water/vegetable broth (more, if needed), pasta, beans, spinach leaves (if desired), and tomato paste, and cook for an additional 20 minutes or until desired consistency. Less water will be needed if the spinach is used. Add salt to taste, if you are not using soup base. I use Better Than Bouillon brand vegetable soup base or one that I get from a restaurant supply store. Use more parsley if you are not adding spinach. *Note: I use 7/8 cup of each dried bean to yield the amount needed and cook the beans earlier in the day or the day before in plain water with a couple of bay leaves. I simmer them in the same pan. Alternatively, canned beans can be used (14 oz can each), drained and rinsed. Another favorite is Posole: Lars' Posole I recommend that you soak more hominy than you need, and you can freeze the leftover for later use. It is best to use hominy that is in pieces rather than whole kernals. Ingredients 3/4 cup dried white hominy corn (maiz trillado blanco) - about 2-1/2 to 3 cups when soaked - rinsed canned hominy can be substituted 2 tbsp canola oil 2 tbsp olive oil 1 medium onion, chopped 6-7 cloves garlic, minced, or finely chopped 1 red bell pepper, chopped 1 green bell pepper (or 2 Anaheim chilies), chopped 4 serrano peppers, finely chopped, some seeds removed 1 tbsp cumin 2 tbsp chili powder (I use Ancho) 1 10 oz can of Rotel tomatoes (or tomatoes with chilies) 4-5 bouillon cubes (vegetable flavor) 2 cups water (or reserved liquid from soaking) Cilantro, for garnish Grated cheddar cheese (optional) Directions To quick soak the hominy, place it in a pan and cover with triple depth of water. Bring to a boil, cover, and remove from heat. Allow to soak for about 2-3 hours, and then drain the water. You may need to check periodically to make sure there is enough water covering the hominy. Save the soaking water if you want to use it as a thickener for this or another dish. While the hominy is soaking (or almost ready), you can begin the rest of the process, starting with chopping all the vegetables. The pieces should be fairly small, but not minced, except for the garlic and serrano peppers. Heat the oils in a large saucepan (Mine is 4" deep) and add the chopped onion, peppers, and garlic. Saute for a few minutes, or until the onion becomes a bit translucent - it does not need to cook thoroughly, and you do not want to make the vegetables too soft. Turn off the heat, and stir in the cumin and chili powder. Add the canned tomatoes, bouillon cubes, water, and drained hominy. Bring to a boil, and cook covered for about 20 minutes. Serve in individual soup bowls with chopped cilantro, stirred in at the last minute. You can also add grated cheese if desired. Some people add lime juice, but I prefer to leave it out. It is traditional to serve this with shredded cabbage and fresh lime juice, but I did not know this when I made up this recipe. Mine is vegetarian, but it is usually made with pork in Mexico. Lars

Well, it's going to be the soup (in small mugs; I don't have any soup mugs). Also hot rolls, the dried apricot/mascarpone/walnut appetizer, and blackberry cobbler from the bakery for dessert. Maybe ice cream with the cobbler, or else just leftover cream from my soup recipe. Makes for an awful lot of cream in this menu, but I guess it will be okay. I'll put out green onion tops to sprinkle on the soup. There is no store even 35 miles away that carries chives. I posted a question about the soup recipe because although I've made it many times it's never seemed to me like the amount of squash called for is right. Thanks so much to all of you for your help.

I love squash soup, but I think it can be a bit bland, so I like to goose it up a bit with hot sauce or spices. I love cumin with butternut squash. You might incorporate something like that into whatever you decide to make.