Tomato bisque soup

It was rainy and cold last week, so I made this soup.  It was really fast, and very delicious.  Even Owen liked it, and for days after asked for "soup and a dilled teaser" (translation: soup and a grilled cheeser).   It's based on the recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe, with a few adjustments.  Please excuse the picture, I always seem to want to take pictures of food when there's not any light.

Here's the original recipe.  The following is my version:

Ingredients:
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cubed (for about 1 1/2 cups cooked squash)
1 tablespoon butter
¼ cup diced onion
3 cloves garlic, smashed and roughly chopped
1 can (14.5 ounces) Italian-style stewed tomatoes (or 1 can stewed tomatoes with 1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning)
1 cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar (add more or less to taste)
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 cup heavy cream

Directions:
1. Prepare the butternut squash by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. Place cubed squash in a 9x13 pan. Add a bit of water (enough to cover the bottom of the pan), and cover with foil. Bake for 30-40 minutes, removing the foil for the last ten minutes. The squash should be quite soft when poked with a fork. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly, then transfer to blender.

2. While the squash is cooking, in a medium saucepan, melt the butter and saute the onion until soft and translucent. Add the minced garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Scoop the onion/garlic mixture into the blender with the squash.

3. Add the canned tomatoes (undrained) to the blender. Process until the mixture is smooth – if the mixture is too thick to blend well, you can add the chicken broth/stock into the blender to help it along. Pour the blended mixture back into the saucepan and add the chicken broth (if you didn’t already add it to the blender), salt, sugar, basil and cream. Stir to combine well. Heat over medium-low heat until the soup is warm. Serve immediately.

Notes: We ate this with grilled cheese, and it was wonderful.  It would be even easier if you bought already cubed butternut squash (fresh or frozen) or just bought the frozen already cooked and pureed butternut squash!  I think next time I might add another can of tomatoes as well, as it wasn't as tomato-y as Casey would have liked.  

Before signing off, I feel that I should share this picture of Owen, as it was taken at the same time as the tomato soup picture.  This is because any time I have the camera out Owen wants me to take a picture of him, and I'm happy to oblige!

In the leafy tree tops...

Birds are loud.  I always forget how loud, and then Spring comes and they remind me.  I'm not going to complain though; warm weather and singing birds sure beats frigid weather and silence.  Their is a cardinal  that regularly comes to the tree behind our house and utters his call (according to wikipedia the male cardinal "marks out his territory with song").  I am becoming quite fond of him, and considering giving him a name.  Any suggestions?

Peas!

Our peas are coming up!  I feel like a child at Christmas.  Who knew gardening was so exciting?