Home owners are very familiar with this concept: something in the house is always broken.
A few days ago I walked into my bathroom and immediately my eyes were drawn to the corner of the wooden bath panel. There it was, a newly gnawed hole with freshly chewed carpet scattered around for decoration. As the Teletubbies would say: EH-OH. Immediately, I jumped on the phone to Neil to tell him about my suspicion of a mouse in the house.
The more I thought about it, the more unlikely it seemed. Wouldn’t a mouse start at the bottom of the house? Then it suddenly all made sense. It’s the bloody squirrels again. A year ago we thought we got rid of them for good by getting an exterminator but this year they came back with a vengeance and already wrote off the garage lights’ wiring. We thought we caught them all a few weeks ago but they are getting in another way.
After all the problems these vermin have caused us, I have nothing but red-hot hatred for them. If I could eradicate every single fluffy, overgrown rat off this planet I would. The damage repairs already cost a fortune and there is no peace of mind to be found after the remedial work has been done because you never know whether they will come back and cause more havoc…
What a hateful person I must be, you might think. But I didn’t always feel the same about them. In fact, I loved them and the highlight of every trip to Cape Town was to go to Die Tuine (The Gardens) and feed the squirrels. Don’t believe me? See Exhibit A taken December 1986.
But that could be any little girl. Okay, here’s another one.
Yep, that’s me, knickers and all. (The finishing school knew a lost cause when it saw one and I never got past the application stage.)
By the way, the story has got nothing to do with the soup. It tastes good though. Maybe I should add some vodka to it to drown my sorrows…
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Butternut Squash & Orange Soup
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 45ml (3 tbsp) butter
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 medium potatoes, diced
- 750g (1½ lbs) butternut, peeled, seeded and diced
- peel of ½ orange
- 750ml (3 cups) chicken or vegetable stock
- 65ml (¼ cup) orange juice
- pinch ground cinnamon
- 125ml (½ cup) double cream [optional]
- salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Melt butter and sauté onions for about 1 minute.
- Add the vegetables, orange peel, stock and orange juice and bring to the boil.
- Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until vegetables are soft.
- Transfer to a blender or food processor and work until fairly smooth.
- Return to the pan and add cinnamon, cream and seasoning.
- Slowly bring to boil, reduce until heated through, a few minutes. Add a swirl of cream to each dish, if desired, and serve immediately.
Notes
- Serve with fresh whole wheat bread slathered with butter.
- Category: Soup
- Method: Boil
- Cuisine: South African
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 100
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 580 mg
- Fat: 2.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 20 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 2 g
P.S. Other type of squashes, e.g. gem squash, will work with this soup too.
wizzythestick says
Gorgeous colours the blue background really brings out the colour soup which looks dreamy.
MandyM says
Oh yum! One of my favourite soups from Woolies (in SA) was their butternut & orange soup, but alas, M&S doesn’t do the same soup here in Ireland 🙁 (The Irish don’t know what they’re missing out on)
I’ll have to give this a try 🙂
michelle says
Ah, Woolies. Those were the days!
★★★★★
Michelle says
Thanks, Wizzy!
MandyM: I’ve only ever seen butternut and orange soup on South African restaurant menus. Never tries Woolies’ version but I’m sure it must have been gorgeous. The Brits also don’t know what to do with pumpkins. Some of them have bad experiences and they never it again. If only they had someone to prepare it properly for them. 😉
pami says
delicious soup, really creamy and so easy to make. I served it up with crusty homemade bread..m’m m’m
Michelle says
Pami: I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the feedback! 🙂
Lee says
This is just the recipe I was looking for. Try putting halved apples in your garden for the squirrels to chew on. We had them tapping on our door for more. They never bothered with the house as there was food outside for them to eat. I go into Kew Gardens every weekend to get my dose of Squirrels, ducks and swans. Love the story and look forward to hearing how the apples go. Email me the next sequel. XXX
Michelle says
Lee: We assumed wrongly and it ended up being rats – ick!
https://www.greedygourmet.com/2010/04/19/beef-broccoli-cashew-nut-stir-fry/
I’m not sure about trying the apples though because our neighbours on both sides have a habit of putting food out for the wildlife which I’m sure attracts the critters closer to the house in the first place. I wish I can love them again but at this stage I’m fed up!
Michelle says
Lee: We assumed wrongly and it ended up being rats – ick!
https://www.greedygourmet.com/2010/04/19/beef-broccoli-cashew-nut-stir-fry/
I’m not sure about trying the apples though because our neighbours on both sides have a habit of putting food out for the wildlife which I’m sure attracts the critters closer to the house in the first place. I wish I can love them again but at this stage I’m fed up!
Linda says
Bought a squash this morning and didn’t know what to do with it. Found your website and made this fantastic soup. Well worth the hour it took me to peel the squash!
Michelle says
Thanks for the positive feedback, Linda. It made my day!
Peeling pumpkin is a pain but I’m glad to hear you realised it’s all worth it. 🙂
Patrick says
Also enjoyed the soup, just one tip re “Well worth the hour it took me to peel the squash” Stab a few slits in the squash, place it on a plate & microwave on high for 12 minutes approx depending on size. Let cool & you can peel it, scoop the seeds out & dice it in 5 minutes. I also add some of the juice from the orange as well as orange peel.
Maimie says
loved your photos and your soups . I am having 12 guests for Christmas and half are children the soup will go down a treat as part of our meal ..
woody says
Sorry found the taste of orange peel too strong! Will try it again but with more juice and no peel!:)
BUNNEY says
This looks very good , find butternut squash soup on its own is rather bland.
Mummyspam1985 says
First taste of butternut squash. Love it!!!
Wen Dalby says
Just made this today to take to work for lunches but the kids finished it off with crusty bread, tastes amazing x
patrick says
It doesn’t taste like butter and its not a nut. What else have we been lied to about? Try making it peels ad all
patrick says
It doesn’t taste like butter and its not a nut. What else have we been lied to about? Try making it peels ad all
Michelle says
Has someone gently broken to you yet the truth about grapefruit? 😉