Summer Squash Soup

Every week I've been getting summer squash in my farm basket. Every week. Zucchini too, every week. I'm really not complaining, but I don't think I would buy 6-8 squashes each week. I pick out the smaller ones. I have been keeping up with them pretty well. I've grilled many of them. Last night I did a vegetable saute for pasta. Onion, garlic, yellow squash, zucchini and eggplant. Very yummy. I have a few product comments about this meal.
#1- rice pasta - never trust the cooking time on the label. The time is always too long. The pasta I made last night had a cooking time of 15-19 minutes (no kidding), I checked after about 6 minutes and it was done. If I had cooked it the time suggested (and I have done this in the past) the pasta would have been total mush. I suggest checking at 1/2 of the suggested time and then one minute there after. Make a note of the cooking time for that shape and brand of pasta. I put my note on the inside of the cupboard.
#2- pasta sauce. Most jarred sauces are gluten free, but as always check the label. We usually use Muir Glen Organic because we like it and the sodium content is fairly low - 350-380 per 1/2 cup. Fat content is 1 gram. there is no added sugar.
Recently in Walmat I can across Bea's Brookklyn's Best sauces. The sodium content is remarkably low - 150-180 mg per 1/2 cup. The Fat is higher at 6 grams per 1/2 cup, one gram being saturated fat. This one also has no added sugar. The taste was good, we tried the vodka sauce.

So back to chatting about squash:
Last week, when the temperatures were a bit cooler, I made a soup using the summer squash.
I changed a few items in the original recipe. Mostly by using more vegetables than were called for.

Creamy Summer Squash Soup

1 medium onion, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
2 medium potatoes, washed and cubed
4 carrots, sliced
3 small yellow squashes, sliced
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp turmeric
2 1/2 cups reduced sodium chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Saute onion in oil in large sauce pan over medium heat, about 5 minutes. Stir in potatoes, carrots, squash, pepper and turmeric.

Add broth and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until vegetables are soft.
Blend with an immersion blender. Add milk and cheese. Gently reheat.

Serves about 7-8.