Hubbard Squash Soup!

'Tis the season for winter squash! We've had a great crop of Hubbard Squash this year; some of the best sizes we've ever gotten due to consistent rains. Farmer Man decided a nice soup was in order! Hubbard is an awesome winter squash; originating in South America, it is believed to have come to North America in the 1700's via the West Indies. It has dense, rich flesh, a little on the sweet side and somewhat nutty. It looks challenging, but is easier to deal with than you might think. Farmer Man's tip for cutting into any of the larger squash is to get a cleaver or large knife into the skin, than tap it down through the skin and flesh with a rolling pin. You could use a hammer or something, but your hits have to be a bit more precise: with something like a rolling pin you can't miss the knife. An elderly customer at the Farmers Markets' takes her large winter squashes and just throws them on the garage floor to break them up.

Farmer Man roasted the Hubbard first. Once cut in half, he scooped out the seeds and rubbed the exposed flesh with better. We roast ours facing up because we like the crispy edges to nibble on, and it's easier to tell when they are cooked! Roast until soft and the skin can be pierced with a fork. Our big squash took almost three hours to roast! We had some nice apples from Clayton Organic Orchards, and we roasted them, peeled, cored and quartered, with cinnamon until soft, about an hour for ours. Farmer Man removed the squash flesh from the skin, put it in a pot with cream and chicken stock and used the hand blender to puree it to a smooth consistency. Then he pureed in the apples, cooked bacon chopped fine, cinnamon, dried basil and oregano, salt. He added more stock and water to keep the consistency smooth. He simmered it until we were ready to eat. Yummy! So busy eating it I failed to get a picture (bad blogger, bad!) A nice dollop of sour cream was an excellent touch for serving - he used a chopstick to make a nice swirl design.