First Frost

On Tuesday, the temperature was in the eighties; by last night it was in the twenties. That kind of sixty degree swing can have a dramatic effect on one's garden. So, we had a final harvest and piled everything in the pantry. There are apples, pears, pumpkins, squash, cukes, zukes, and tomatos. The squash are already being seeded, baked, skinned, and frozen. This winter we'll pull them out for Butternut Bisque. Rural Ways does not know what "bisque" means, but the following ingredients make a soup-like food that keeps one warm and strong all winter:

2 lbs butternut squash
2 tbsp butter

2 carrots, sliced

1 onion, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

2 potatoes, peeled and cubed

5 cups chicken stock

1 1/2 tsp curry powder

pinch each of nutmeg and ginger

sour cream for garnish