| Happy Sunday, everyone. Even though “autumn” isn’t really the same out in Miami, my DNA still responds to the hanging season. I guess growing up in New England established that reaction and I’ve never quite shaken it. Malibu wasn’t exactly the land of fall foliage and yet I still felt the change when it occurred. It’s deep into autumn and I’m deep into fall recipes. I’m not a recipe guy, to be honest. Never have been. I like to wing it in the kitchen. Whenever we wrote recipe books, I needed a lot of help getting them transcribed and translated to something a normal person could follow. Today, I’ll do my best to transmit what I’ve been doing in the kitchen. Squash Soup Peel, de-seed, and chop up the winter squash of your choice. I’ve been loving honey nut squash, kabocha, or the old standby butternut squash. Any winter squash will do. Just make sure you pick a good one—it should feel heavy for its size. In a large pot (I used enameled cast iron dutch oven), heat up some olive or avocado oil and butter over medium heat. Add the squash and some salt. It’s okay if the squash pieces aren’t all touching the surface of the pan; you’ll be stirring throughout). While the squash is cooking, dice a large white or yellow onion. Once the squash is beginning to brown, add the onion and any extra fat if the food is sticking. Stir. When the squash can be pierced with a fork (but isn’t quite ready), add chicken bone broth (or water with some gelatin). Use a wooden spatula to scrape the bottom, get all that fond/flavor integrated into the soup. Cover and cook until the squash is totally soft. Add some heavy cream, sour cream, or more broth if you prefer. Then you have a few options: - You can leave the soup chunky and serve as-is with a drizzle of olive oil or some butter on top.
- You can mash with a potato masher and serve a relatively smooth soup.
- You can use a stick blender to pulverize it.
There are some modifications you can try: - Add curry spices to the squash as it’s cooking.
- Add sharp cheddar to the soup at the end.
- Use milk instead of broth.
- Use coconut products (oil, cream, milk) to keep it dairy-free.
Pumpkin Pie Smoothie Get out your blender and add: Add protein powder for extra, well, protein. I like Primal Fuel obviously, but it may be too sweet combined with the Collagen Fuel. Unflavored might work best. Your tastes will vary. Blend up, and it's ready. Those are two things I’ve been eating. What have you been cooking? Let me know in the comment section of New and Noteworthy. | 
