southwest butternut squash soup

a big fan of winter vegetables, butternut squash is one of my favorites. usually i make a soup of it, pureed with stewed granny smith apples, or i roast the squash and eat it right out of the shell with a little butter and a dash of sea salt. other than that i didn't know many other dishes to prepare with such a rich flavor...until i found this recipe. like all recipes i appropriate, my changes make it even better. for other seasonal recipes check out:

- olive oil, or your saute oil of choice, sesame and grapeseed work well.
- 2 cups chopped onion of your choice. i like to mix a variety...a little purple, a little green scallion, a little white...but to keep with the southwest style yellow is fine
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 cup diced red peppers, or 8 oz pimientos
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1/2 cup chopped pablanos. if you want more smokey flavor then roast the peppers first.
- 1 ts dried oregano
- 1 ts chili powder. if you're like me and hate to use already mixed seasonings then make up your own chili powder
~white pepper, paprika, cumin, onion powder, cayenne, garlic powder, celery salt

- 1 or 2 large butternut squash, raw, cubed
- 14 oz vegatable broth (make your own, it's better)
- 15 oz hominy
- juice of 2 limes
- 1/4 fresh, chopped cilantro

pour enough oil is skillet to cover the bottom. add first 8 ingredients. mix around in oil until well coated. add more oil if necessary. saute on low until onions are translucent but do not let the garlic burn. transfer to a big soup pot, add all other ingredients. if not enough brother to cover all ingredients with room for swimming, by all means add more. when served, dollop a little sour cream on top.

the joy of making soup is that measurements are not entirely important. most of it is prepared to taste...left up to the discretion of the souper.