Today’s dog walk started out cloudy, cold and windy. Needless to say, I didn’t dress appropriately so I was cold. Naturally, because I was cold, Pup-pup (who’d much rather run around the yard then walk on a leash anyway) decided he needed to mark every tree on our route, and so the entire journey was a series of stop and starts. No sooner would I get a good pace going then he would slow down to pee. Or worse, stop altogether because there was something on the road that needed sniffing. Fortunately, around the 3/4 mile marker, the sun came out and the last portion of our walk was warmer and much smoother. (Pup-pup gets faster those closer we get to home – and his cookie.)
It dawned on me the entire walk was an excellent metaphor for the novel writing process.
On a complete unrelated note, today marks my twelfth day of gluten free living. I’m still waiting for the benefits to kick in. I’m told it’ll take a good month for that. In the meantime, I’m slowly but surely getting the hang of gluten-free cooking. Because fresh fruits and vegetables reign supreme, I’m finding myself making a lot more soups. This one, Roasted Squash and Apple soup came out fantastic. I thought I’d share it here. This recipe is for two people. If you want a bigger batch, just double the quantities.
ROASTED ACORN SQUASH AND APPLE SOUP
1/2 acorn squash cut into wedges
1 -2 small apples
1 shallot, peeled and halved
2 tablespoons olive oil (I used corn oil to avoid gluten)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons heavy cream
pinch of ginger
pinch of cayenne pepper (if desired)
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Toss squash and shallot with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper (if desired), then place them cut side down on pan. Roast until soft – around 25 minutes. Let cool slightly and remove skin from squash.
Transfer vegetables to blender. Add apples and broth. Process to smooth, adding additional broth to adjust consistency if necessary.
Return to saucepan. Stir in cream, ginger and (if desired) cayenne pepper. Bring to a simmer. Serve with toasty warm bread or, if you’re Barb – gluten free popovers!
(Note: the original recipe suggests straining the soup before returning it to the sauce pan. I prefer a little bulk so I did not.)