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• 2 tbl oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 4-5 cups butternut squash, cubed
• 2 apples, cubed
• 1 cup apple juice or cider
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 2 slices of bread, shredded
• Spices (salt/pepper/italian seasoning) as desired
• Optional: 1/2 cup half and half

1. Heat oil in large saucepan and brown onion and garlic (~ 2 min).
2. Add squash and apples, stirring to coat with onion and oil (~ 1 min).
3. Slowly add juice, broth, and bread and stir well. Add spices as desired. Bring to boil.
4. Once boiling, reduce heat to low. Cover and let simmer about 40 - 45 minutes until squash is soft.
5. If you prefer a chunky soup - smash squash chunks with a potato masher or hand held mixer, then serve.
6. If you prefer a more smooth bisque like soup - let soup cool to a reasonable temperature and blend a few cups at a time in a blender or food processor. Reheat and serve. For a smoother texture, add 1/2 cup half and half before blending.

Makes approximately 16 1.5 cup servings of soup.

Obviously, this makes a lot of soup For two people, there was so much soup leftover, we had to throw at least a third of it out. It was excellent, and I really enjoyed, but you can only eat it so many times in a row. The reason I used so much squash was to use up a giant squash I received in my Spud Grocery Delivery. After all that soup, I still had another half of squash to use. I will definitely half or even quarter this recipe if I were to use it again.

I was tempted to be lazy and just smash the soup with a potato smasher to eat it right away. But after blending a cup in the blender, I realized that the smooth soup was far more superior in texture and flavor than the smashed version. Maybe if I had some potatoes in there, the smashed version would be substantial enough.

• Address: 316 Virginia, Seattle, WA (Downtown)
• Type: Pizza
• Pricing: $13/person
• Rating: 4/5 stars

Tom Douglas: Serious Pie

This is very close to my office, and I’ve been waiting anxiously for Tom Douglas’ new restaurant to be built. Don’t get me wrong, I had loved watching the bakers run around and move sweet smelling loaves from rack to oven and back, but I love a new restaurant even better. I also have a love affair with Tom Douglas’ cooking.

I love pizza anyway, so how could I resist? It smells good and I knew it would taste good, so I went in for some take-out. I really really love the new place, the design is warm but modern. The giant pizza oven is there for all to see. The tables are tall and squished together, trying to take advantage of all the space they can get in there.

As for the food… I was a little disappointed that the menu for a place called Serious Pie didn’t have has many pies on the menu as I had imagined. There are only 5 different kinds of pizza, but at least for $12/each they are generously portioned. The website says the menu changes daily but I haven’t seen any changes when I’ve gone in the last few times. I think last time they offered me a special, but I didn’t see it posted anywhere and I don’t recall what it was now.

All that said, I really love the yukon potato pizza. Good texture, excellent potatoes paired with cheese and garlic. By far the best potato pizza I have ever had in my life. If you aren’t in the mood for pizza, never fear! You can wander to anyone of Tom Douglas’ other restaurants within 2 blocks of each other. Try Dahlia Cafe around the corner, good soups and a couple sandwiches and lots of baked goods.

• Address: 12543 Lake City Way NE, Seattle, WA
• Type: Sushi
• Pricing: $25/person
• Rating: 3/5 stars

Yelp Page

Parking was pretty easy on the street, though it’s kind of a pain to make a u-turn on Lake City Way. We went at about 7pm and it was perfect timing as we only had to wait maybe 5 minutes. It quickly got very crowded, so I’m glad we went earlier than everyone else. The staff seem hard to get a hold of when you want something, but they were pretty good about keeping our tea and water filled.

The sushi itself wasn’t great but it wasn’t bad either. There was something about it that just didn’t make me happy - it was missing something, or maybe was a little heavy on the sauce or something like that. I think my California roll didn’t have any avocado! Which, if anyone knows me, knows that this is a great injustice, as avocado is the greatest fruit available to mankind. (I dream daily of the avocado burgers we had in Santiago, Chile…mmmm…. that’s another post though)

I had the tempura fried ice cream which was definitely worth it, if not for being too large for me to actually finish. A nice cake and tempura batter over a giant soft-ball sized ice cream. I heard other patrons extolling its values as we were leaving.

All in all, I would probably go back, but only because it’s close to my house. I still don’t have a favorite sushi place around here. I’m never satisfied.