Acorn Squash Soup with Bacon & Squash Seeds

This recipe idea is from Mari over at Once Upon a Plate. She and Monique from La Table de Nana have the most beautiful blogs. I believe they also happen to be friends. A natural kinship as both are brilliantly stylistic people. I often go to their sites for aesthetic inspiration and marvel at how they make everything look so beautiful and effortless. Graceful really. I aspire to be more like them when my blog grows up. In my own way of course.

I however am not graceful like Mari and Monique. My nickname growing up was ?Grace?, a sarcastic call to my clumsy ways. Making this soup was just another example of this. Earlier in the morning I had attempted to wrestle open a Champagne bottle for a batch of preserves. Failing, I set the bottle on the counter and settled on Riesling preserves.

As I struggled to slice open a tough acorn squash that evening, the Champagne cork finally blew off with an explosive bang and flew across the room. I was so startled I almost sliced my hand to bits and my panicked Toy Australian Shepherd ran around the room barking his brains out.

I took that as my cue to stop and have a glass of that stubborn Champagne before I finished wrestling the squash open. Perhaps I?ll just have to settle for someday having a bit of style with a little bit of klutz thrown in for good measure. I think being clumsy is here to stay.

Ingredients
2 acorn squash, reserve seeds
Olive oil for basting squash
1 small white onion or half of a large onion, diced
3 tablespoons butter
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 tablespoons water to deglaze pan (Or Champagne if you have it)
salt & pepper
Fresh grated nutmeg
4 to 5 slices crispy cooked bacon, chopped

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil.

2. Cut squash in half leaving your fingers intact, scrape out and reserve the seeds in cold salted water. Slice the squash into strips leaving on the skin. Place in a foil lined pan and coat the squash with olive oil. Bake for 50 minutes. Cool until you can handle them without burning your fingers off and remove the skin with your fingers.

3. Meanwhile, drain the water from the seeds and place them on a foil lined baking sheet. Coat them with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake at 350 degrees for a few minutes until toasted and lightly golden brown.

4. In a medium to large pot add the butter and onions. Cook over medium high until the onions look softened a bit. Then turn off the heat.

5. Place the squash, onions, and chicken or vegetable stock in a food processer or blender and process until smooth.

6. Deglaze the pan with 2 Tablespoons of water over medium high heat. Then add the soup and turn the heat to medium. Cover and stir frequently until warmed through. Add salt, pepper, and fresh nutmeg to taste.

7. Ladle into bowls and garnish with cooked chopped bacon and toasted acorn squash seeds.

This comforting recipe idea comes from Mari at Once Upon a Plate. Visit this lovely post and beautiful soup picture. I've adapted it somewhat, as she left her recipe open for all of us to suite our own tastes.