Then the other day I came across this recipe for spicy squash soup. Since I'm blogging about it, you can assume it came out pretty well.

Spicy Squash Soup

• 2 1/2 tsp cajun seasoning (you may want to use less and season at the table)
• 1 1/2 pounds winter squash (I used mixed delicata and butternut)
• 2-3 tsp fresh minced ginger
• 4 cups milk
• 2 cups diced onion
• 1 cup diced celery
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 4 tsp olive oil
• 10 oz frozen corn kernels
• 10 oz frozen green beans
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves (I faked it with dried)

Cut off the ends of the squash, cut into long quarters and remove seeds. Steam the pieces until soft - about half an hour for me. Scrape the squash out of the skin and place in a blender with with the ginger and 2 1/2 cups of the milk; puree. Cook the onion, garlic and celery in the olive oil until soft. Reduce heat to low, add the spices and mix. Add the squash and the rest of the milk. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer covered for 15 minutes. Add the corn and beans, simmer another 5 minutes. Stir in basil and serve.

I didn't have any cajun seasoning mix, but I do have a well stocked spice cabinet in general. I figured I could make my own, and I was right. I found this recipe, modified it slightly and cut the portions way down. This still makes a bit too much for the recipe.

Cajun Seasoning Mix

• 1.25 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• .75 tsp black pepper
• .75 tsp chili powder
• .25 tsp thyme
• .25 tsp dried basil
• .5 tsp table salt OR about 2.5 oz by weight

This was also our second time using a recently purchased stick blender. Last time we had some serious splashing issues, which I attribute to trying to blend too shallow an amount of liquid. This time, I put the squash, milk and ginger in a pitcher and blended it there. It worked great, and kind of looked like a delicious mango smoothie. It didn't taste like a mango smoothie, though.