Cheesy Butternut Squash Soup With Hot Peppers

I am not a big squash person and I am ALSO not big on this mindset that the only way to make squash is with some kind of sweetish brown sugar/pumpkin pie spice situation. I like savory food! LET US NOT LIMIT OUR AUTUMNAL GARDEN VEGETABLES IN THIS WAY.  So here is a cheesy spicy soup with butternut squash.

Makes around 4 big bowls.

You will need:
A very big pot
Food processor or blender (...or potato masher if you're feeling really badass DIY?)
1 butternut squash
8 oz shredded cheddar*
Half a red onion, chopped finely
Half an orange pepper 
1 medium size hot chili pepper*, chopped finely
1-2 scallions, chopped
1 lemon or equivalent juice
4 oz half and half*
A bunch of tap water
2 big bullion cubes (I use knorr vegetarian vegetable)
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (leave out if you're not into spicy)
Some oil or butter to cook with
small bunch of fresh thyme or half a tsp dried thyme

*leave out the cheese & substitute water for the half and half if you want this to be vegan. 
**I used the longish twisty kind that go from green to orange. feel free to leave out if you're not into spicy or substitute with something more intense if you prefer

First, peel your squash and chop it into small cubes. This takes a while. Discard the pulp/seeds. Put all your squash in the pot, & just cover with water. Add your 2 bullion cubes & bunch of thyme and put on high. Bring to a boil, you will be letting it boil about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, chop up your orange pepper and add the pieces when there are about 3 minutes left. It's a shame to overcook peppers.You'll be blending all this so don't worry too much about chopping nicely or finely.

Remove from heat. Put your half and half and about a cup of cold water into your food processor/blender. Using a slotted spoon or strainer, transfer your squash & peppers into the food processor. If you used fresh thyme you can discard it now, we don't need to eat twigs and it has done its work. Don't discard the broth!!! Blend to a consistency you like with no big chunks. Then slowly pour back into the broth, stirring as you go. I unthinkingly dropped my food processor blade into my pot and had to rescue it with tongs, so really don't feel bad if you're not too graceful about this. Mix in your other spices (turmeric and cayenne pepper, if desired), put back on medium heat & cover.

Now. Cook your chopped pepper & onions in a small frying pan with some oil or butter. I used avocado oil which some wonderful benefactor got me as a wedding gift. Just cook until the onions are softer but not translucent. Then add this into your squash/broth situation and mix in.

Now you are going to add your cheese. I recommend adding it slowly and whisking as you go so it melts evenly and does not get clumpy. When it's nicely mixed in, whisk in your lemon juice in the same way, slowly stirring so it does not cause any seperation.

You're done! You can leave on low heat with a cover while you prepare anything else for your meal. Soup only gets better the longer it cooks. Garnish with chopped scallion & serve!

Spicy Chickpea Soup with Roasted Peppers

Ingredients!

5 cloves garlic, chopped
Oil and/or butter (this is vegan if you skip the butter)
1 can chickpeas
Splash of lemon juice.
About 1 cup worth of chopped tomatoes 
1 red and 1 green bell pepper
Dry spices: thyme, garlic, onion powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper
1 and a half cups of broth or water

Steps:

First thing: start your peppers roasting. Do this using whatever method appeals to you or follow the instructions here.

Then start 4 of your garlic cloves in some oil and/or butter. Lately I have been reserving 1 clove and chop it much more finely to throw in raw at the end - when raw, garlic is a prebiotic (i.e. feeds the helpful bacteria) and also has antifungal/antibacterial properties.

While simmering, add spices and lemon juice. For the spices: I added a large amount of paprika because I want that red pepper flavor, and a couple shakes of everything else. Let your nose be your guide. FYI for cayenne & cinnamon, a little goes a long way.

When your garlic is tender add your chickpeas and water or broth. Bring back up to a simmer.

Then smash up your chickpeas somewhat. You can use an immersion blender or, if you're like me and don't have fancy cookware, just use a potato masher! It doesn't have to be a puree, just smaller chunks.

Let this simmer until your peppers are roasted. Peel your roasted peppers (let them cool first, dude, don't get burned!), chop them into bite size pieces and stir them in.

Add your chopped tomatoes and raw garlic and you're good to go!

This is way yummy for dipping bread in or just eating on its own.

Honey Ginger Lemonade

Makes a little more than a quart. Feel free to double or divide if you're making more or less.

You will need:

2-4 lemons 

2-6 oz honey

1 inch or so of grated ginger

2-3 cups water

Ice

Pot

Seive (tea strainer works too if you're careful)

Pitcher

Water goes into the pot. (Fact: I often get lazy and just heat this up in a couple of big mugs in the microwave. It's all good.)

Wash your lemons, cut into quarters, squeeze as much juice and pulp as you can into the pot. Then throw the lemons themselves in there too. This is to taste; I like a not-crazy-tart lemonade so I usually go with 2 lemons, but if you MUST HAVE THAT CITRIC ACID PUCKER then go for more!

Grate your ginger right into the pot. Pro tip: most of the medicinal properties of ginger lie just beneath the skin so instead of using a peeler, gently rub the skin off with a knife.

Add your honey to taste. If you're not sure, start with a little--you can always add more later. Another pro tip: raw unfiltered honey has a LOT of health benefits that the generic bears you buy at the supermarket do not. It also tastes way better.

Heat long enough for everything to melt and combine. No need to bring to a boil. Just get it hot.

Taste (carefully, don't burn your tongue) and adjust honey/lemon ratio as needed. It should be stronger than you actually want it at this point because this is going over ice which will water it down. Add more lemons if it's too sweet or too watery; add more honey if it's too tart.

Half-fill your pitcher with ice and pour your lemonade through a seive into your pitcher. Done!

BONUS BOOZE OPTION: If you mix 1 part pinot grigio and 1 part honey ginger lemonade you will have a bangin' beach drink.