Fall Butternut Squash Soup

A pretty simple soup, for a simple fall evening.  Combine equal parts (about 3/4 cup each) of chopped onions, carrots, and celery in a pot with some butter, garlic, and olive oil.  Saute until things start to smell good, and add 3 cups of chopped butternut squash (skin and seeds removed) and mix well.  After the squash has sufficiently moistened, add about 2 cups of chicken or vegetable broth (we used some leftover turkey carcass broth) and cook for 15 minutes, until everything is soft.

Remove from the heat, and blend the soup in blender in batches, until everything is creamy.  Return to the pot, reheat, and season with salt and pepper as needed, and maybe some fresh sage.  Garnish with the last of the nasturtium blossoms.

Beets!

The color of beets is due to betalain, a naturally occurring pigment most often found in flower petals.  Prickly pear fruit (another ingredient in our refrigerator) also exhibits this pigment, and swiss chard (still hanging on in the garden outside) owes its color and taste to being a subspecies with beets.  They make a good meal tossed with carrots, garlic, and montreal steak seasoning, and roasted in olive oil in the skillet.