Chester submitted:

> Title: Creamy Pumpkin Soup
> Categories: Soups, Cuban, Vegetarian
> Yield: 6 servings
>
> 3 tb Olive oil
> 1 lg Onion, chopped
> 2 Garlic cloves, chopped
> 2 lb Butternut squash, diced
> 4 c Stock
> 1 c Water
> 1 ds Tabasco
> Salt to taste
> Pimento strips to garnish
>
> Heat olive oil over low heat & add onion & garlic. Cook, stirring
> till tender. Add squash & stock, cover & simmer for 40 to 50 minutes
> or till the squash is very soft.
>
> In a food processor, process soup till its very smooth & return to
> pot. Thin with water & season. Pour into a tureen & garnish with
> pimento.
>
> Source: Adapted from Randelman & Schwartz, "Memories of a Cuban
> Kitchen"


The original recipe calls for 1 cup half-and-half or light cream (added
after the soup is puréed) and gives calabaza as the first choice rather than
butternut squash. It specifies Spanish olive oil and chicken stock instead
of the generic "Stock". That recipe gives the cook the choice between
freshly ground black pepper *or* Tabasco. It also includes slices of
hard-boiled egg for garnish.

The headnote to the recipe says, "Anastasio, one of the cooks at La Majagua
tobacco ranch, always prepared this soup for his young lunch guests. He
would garnish each bowl with two hard-boiled egg slices for eyes and a
curved strip of pimiento for a smile and tell us it was 'Sunshine Soup.'"

The original is better -- and is actually *CREAMY*. Chester's version is
castrated, which should surprise no one.

Bob