Butternut squash soup http://rebeccmeister.livejournal.com/846734.html The butternut squash soup was assembled as follows: Step 0: Slice butternut squash in half, scoop out seeds, lightly oil it, put it facedown in a baking pan and roast at 350 degrees until soft, about 45 minutes to an hour (check with a fork if you're more careful than me). Then, scoop out the innards and add them plus some water to the blender and puree it. After this point, I put it in the freezer and pulled it back out again to thaw and make the soup. Step 1: Collect up a spring of rosemary a couple of sprigs of thyme, and some sage leaves. Mince them, and mince up a shallot, too. Remaining steps: Then, heat some butter in your soup pan, and saute the herbs and shallot until the shallot is soft, ~5 minutes. If you want, you could probably add some mushrooms at this point, too. All those nice, earthy flavors. Once that's smelling good, add the butternut squash puree, and perhaps a bit more water or soup stock, as you see fit. I added water and some vegetable stock. Raise the temperature to a near-simmer, then turn off the heat and add in a splashing of cream. Top with a sprinkling of toasty walnuts.