Calabash/Calabassa Soup

Annnnd I'm back! I am back from the jungles of Guatemala. I come back with new parasite friends, wall to wall hand woven carpeting that looks ridiculous in my apartment, and the new ability to carry laundry on my head.

It was exciting to see Alayna because it's been weeks. Or months, I swear. We talked boys and soup and then went to Back Forty, best bar ever. Best bar because they make delicious cocktails and it's perfectly situated between my apartment and Alayna's. Lovely Mo was there and taught us the ways of the Texan belt. Texan belt? Did I just make that up?

In other news, Alayna's moving. I know we've been touching on her grad school application process over the last few months but somehow I never put together that applying to grad school in different states means, you know, you will probably then move to a different state. Horror of horrors, I know.

So we're figuring out how Monday's Soups can not only go on, but can prosper, as we report live from two different states. Don't fret folks, the principal of everything you need to know about cooking, which is soup... will go on. Suddenly Celion Dion's "My Heart Will Go On," just started playing in my mind. And I like it.

This meal was da bomb. Roasting stuff and then cooking it and then blending it always makes for deep rewarding flavors. Or, what we say in the biz, "RCB'ing." I mean, no one says that but I'm going to start right now. Oh, I also wanted to shout out that I had the best black bean soup of my life in Antigua. I think it's because it was filled with pig lard. And let me tell you pig lard is delicious. And so is this, sans lard.

• Take 3 half calabash (this is how they're usually sold at the market... no idea why) and roast them at about 400 for 30-40 minutes by punching some holes in them with a fork, putting a splash of water in each and covering in tin foil
• when your squashes are pretty soft, roughly chop one white onion and saute in olive oil until opaque, adding a few shakes of cinnamon and chili powder
• add one zucchini, chopped, and cook covered, stirring occasionally until mostly cooked... at this point if your squash are done, you should take them out so they have time to cool off a little
• add two cans of drained sweet corn
• scoop out the innards of the calabassa and add to the soup
• top off with veggie broth and blend
• Delicious with avocado on top!