The Joys of Autumn

I really love autumn.

The smells, the scarves, the squashes.

The colors, the breeze, everything.

I just really love it.

The problem with living in Israel is that fall didn't happen when I wanted it to. October was basically just as hot as the few months before it, and since the trees are different here, there was very little change in the leaves. It was still too warm for jeans, let alone scarves, and there were no pumpkins to be found.

Finally, November arrived. Saying finally seems ridiculous because I feel like I just moved here 2 minutes ago so how is it already November, but I digress.

November brought with it a shocking change. Suddenly, it was only in the 60s, and Israelis donned their thick down coats (I am absolutely not kidding nor exaggerating) to protect them from the wintry winds. Remember: I said it went down to the 60s.

Then, one day, I went to the shuk and saw pumpkins. Not just any pumpkins, folks. These pumpkins were giant, white, and chopped up into family sized portions for people to buy and make tasty fall treats with.

Giant white pumpkins at the shuk

Suddenly I was flooded with ideas. Pumpkin cookies, pumpkin soup...pumpkin soup? Yes. I was reminded by my epic discovery of butternut squash soup from the last couple of years (hi are you kidding it is so perfect) and I knew I had to use squash somehow.

So, Friday morning when I trekked to the shuk with my usual partners in crime, I was on a mission. I needed to procure butternut squash, and quickly.

Was I successful?

Clearly.

So I got back from the shuk, unloaded the bajillions of fruits and veggies I purchased for the week (is it bad that I'm already thinking about how hard shopping will be without the shuk next year?) and started on the squash. I decided to bring a roasted fall vegetable medley to shabbat dinner, so I paired my squash with carrots, onion, garlic, and red potatoes. Yes, it's okay to drool.

First thing first, I had to peel the squash. Luckily, a normal veggie peeler does the trick. Then I cut each squash into quarters, removed the gloopy stringy nonsense from within, reserved the seeds (more on those in a minute) and then diced the squash.

Inside of the butternut squash.

At this point I was trying to figure out how to get out of going to shabbat dinner so I could keep the squash to myself. I, however, am not a squash hoarder, so I let that train of thought go and kept on chopping veggies. I tossed them in some olive oil, salt, and pepper, and then let my teeny tiny oven work its magic.

Veggies prepped for the oven.

And friends, that's exactly what happened.

Both batches combined after roasting! YUM.

Once both batches of veg were out of the oven, I rinsed and dried the squash seeds, poured some melted butter on them, sprinkled some salt, and then popped those into the oven to become a crispy little snack. Mission accomplished. They're awesome.

Squash seeds!

So I took the vegetables, which tasted exactly like Thanksgiving should, to dinner. Miraculously, there were leftovers, which meant one thing and one thing only: SOUP.

This morning, after feasting on some Na'aman Challah French Toast made by my roommate Becka (omg best french toast ever) I went to work on the soup. Which was really no work at all.

I warmed up the leftovers in a pot, while getting some broth ready in a saucepan. The broth I used was a parve (neither meat nor dairy in kosher law) chicken flavored soup. I'm pretty wary of meat flavored parve things. Some sort of Willy Wonka nonsense has to be involved to get something that has no chicken in it to taste like chicken, but there are certain circumstances that require sensitivity to people's kosher observance, so it's good to have an option. Turns out, this broth wasn't too bad. It's no homemade chicken stock, but it did just fine.

Stop.

I really love soup, guys. It's so warm and hearty and just is the best.

So anyway, veggies are reheated, broth is boiling, what to do next? Well, you just combine some broth with the veg and use your best friend, the immersion blender.

Immersion blender: every soup lover's best friend.

What you're left with is quite possibly the most perfect and delicious fall treat ever. A bright orange concoction filled with everything wonderful the season has to offer.

Get out of town. This soup rules.

So, even though today there's a high of 77 and it's the middle of November, I'm starting to feel like it's fall.