I have one daughter who, as soon as she gets to do something, is always asking when she can do the next thing. She’s in dance and tae kwan do and likes both a lot but–“When can I play basketball?” We hosted a fun, hopping cookie exchange for Christmas, and I had picked out several kinds of treats to make–but “I want to make my own kind of cookies.” O-kaaaeey. So she did. Then, after the party, “When can I have my own cookie exchange and ask who I want to invite?”–mind you, ALL of her friends and families were invited! “When can I sit in the front seat of the car?” “When can I get my ears pierced?” “When can I wear leggings without a dress over them?” “When can I cut with that knife?” Her shared bedroom is packed full with beds and dressers that really only can fit in one way, but “When can I arrange my room the way I want?” And this week, “I wish I could have my own blog…no?…can I write on your blog?”

So I asked my husband, when is this girl going to be happy with what she has?
I try very hard to allow my kids independence! I’m a Montessori mom, for crying out loud: “Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed” (Dr. Maria Montessori). My husband’s sage answer rings in my ears: “When she is in control.” Alrighty then. Give her more control. So she got handed the computer and told to find a soup recipe for me. She chose “Sweet potato chicken soup”  (click link for original copy) by Caitlin Weeks from http://www.grassfedgirl.com. We had to substitute squash for sweet potato–which probably would have given it a bit more thick, starchy texture than the squash.

Soup 2:  Butternut Squash Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

3 tablespoonsful of olive oil
4 cloves of chopped garlic
1 onion, diced
2 stalks of celery, largely diced
2 carrots sliced into circles
1/2 of a butternut squash cut into 1/4 inch squares
2 cups of chicken
4 cups of chicken broth (much tastier with homemade)
2 teaspoonsful of smoked paprika (or plain paprika, but the smoked gives it a–smoked flavor!)
2 teaspoonsful of thyme
2 tablespoonsful of fresh parsley
2 teaspoonsful of salt
pepper to taste

1.  Heat olive oil in heavy-bottom soup pot over medium-heat.
2.  Add celery, onion, carrots, and garlic and saute until soft.
3.  Add chicken broth, cut squash, and spices.
4.  Simmer until the squash is very, very soft.
5.  Use immersion blender or a regular blender (don’t do what I do–please wait for the soup to cool or add an ice cube or something to your blender to cool the soup before starting blender!!!)  to blend up about 1/4th of the soup to give it a thicker consistency.
6.  Add fresh parsley when serving.

Family “gustar” rating:
5 people (all of us) liked the soup, but nobody asked for seconds or more later in the day or next day.  So, a solid recipe, but not one that “wows”.  But chicken soup without noodles and flour to thicken it just doesn’t “wow” my family, I’m finding.  That’s okay!  Every soup can’t be “the favorite.”

More soups to follow, listed in no particular order:  chili, white chicken chili, broccoli, creamy squash soup with sausage, ?others

What I had to look up to write this post:
1.  Is it “crying out loud” or “crying aloud”?  Apparently interchangable.