This soup is autumn in a bowl. Blended with warming spices and slightly sweet, each bite makes me wish that butternut squash was in season all year long. Perhaps, though, it’s the seasonality of it that makes it just so delicious. It contains only vegetables and vegetable stock, and no heavy cream. That makes it a healthful, light sort of soup, and the squash when well blended transforms into a velvety texture. However, I like to swirl some cream on the top on occasion, as pictured. You can also add a bit to the whole pot of soup, if you fancy a butternut squash soup that sports a bit more richness. Carrots add a bit of flavor, substance, and color to the soup, but you may omit them if you don’t happen to have a few large ones on hand for a soup that focuses only on the squash.

Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup

• 1 butternut squash, halved and seeds discarded

• 4 large carrots, peeled and chopped

• 1 yellow onion, chopped

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 2 sprigs of rosemary, leaves finely chopped

• 2 teaspoons honey

• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon ginger

• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

• 6 cups vegetable stock

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• Cream, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds, for topping.

  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Rub the butternut squash with the olive oil and place cut side down on a baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the squash is very soft and starting to brown.

  While the squash is roasting, heat a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the butter, then the carrots, onion, and rosemary. Sauté until the carrots are softened and the onion is translucent. Add the honey and spices and stir until fragrant, about one minute. Add the vegetable stock, and simmer until the squash is done roasting.

  When the squash is cooked, scoop it all out of the skin and place into the pot with the vegetables and stock. Using an immersion blender, blend the vegetables, stock, and squash until the soup’s texture is smooth and velvety (you may also use a blender, working in batches and placing a towel over the top of the blender to allow steam to escape, returning the mixture to the pot when finished). Serve hot, drizzling the bowls with some cream if you like and topping with pumpkin and sunflower seeds for a bit of crunch.

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The sight of carved pumpkins tucked into the corners of porches brings to mind memories of childhood Octobers, of biting cold nights hurrying about the neighborhood with a bucket of candy collected from obliging doorsteps, of lighting tea lights to place inside hollowed out jack-o-lanterns and festive costuming assisted by maternal imaginations. In the fall, the seasonality of produce shows colors of orange and yellow and deep green in the flesh of pumpkin, of butternut and acorn and delicata squash. We scoop and discard the sticky, slimy mess of seeds tangled with pulp but if there’s a bit of time to clean and roast them, those seeds make for a salty, crunchy snack.

There are countless combinations of spices and flavors you can toss with pumpkin seeds, ranging from cheesy to sweet to plain salt and pepper, and this recipe is but one delicious variation. The amounts are per cup of pumpkin seeds, so adjust them to account for how many seeds you’re roasting. I like to use parchment paper to keep the honey from plastering them to the pan. While you can use regular paprika if that’s what’s in your spice cabinet, smoked paprika adds a layer of smokey flavor that contrasts well with the sweet honey and spicy chili.

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Honeyed Chili and Smoked Paprika Pumpkin Seeds

Recipe amounts per cup of pumpkin seeds; adjust the measurements to the amount of seeds your pumpkin yields.

• 1 cup pumpkin seeds, fresh from a carving or a sugar pie pumpkin

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 2 teaspoons honey

• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder

• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

• Flakey sea salt, to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Clean the pumpkin seeds by rinsing with water in a colander and patting them as dry as possible with a kitchen towel. In a mixing bowl, toss the seeds with the olive oil, honey, chili powder, and smoked paprika.

Spoon the seasoned seeds onto a baking sheet or cast iron skillet, making an even layer of seeds, and sprinkle a good pinch of salt or two over them. When the oven is heated, place inside and toast for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the seeds are dried and crunchy. This time can vary depending on how moist your seeds are, so give them a taste at the 30 minute mark and see if they need to be crisped further.

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Delicata squash is an absolutely delicious addition to the table during this time of year. This recipe uses two, sliced and kept circular, roasted with some honey and herbs. I’ve also included shallots seared in hot butter with whole sage and rosemary leaves, sliced almonds, and translucent bits of shaved pecorino romano. This dish can be served as a side for poultry or meat, placed on top of cooked grains or greens, or had by itself for a light meal. If you only have the squash on hand without the accompanying ingredients of shallots and cheese and almonds, it will still be wonderfully delicious and I encourage you to experiment with your own toppings for the squash. Pecans would be a lovely replacement for the almonds, and you could use shaved parmesan in place of the pecorino romano. As long as you have honey roasted delicata playing the lead, I promise you’ll enjoy it.

Honey and Herb Roasted Delicata Squash with Seared Shallots, Shaved Pecorino Romano, and Sliced Almonds

• 2 delicata squash

• 2 shallots

• 2 tablespoons honey

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 3 rosemary sprigs

• 1 bunch of sage

• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

• Pecornino romano cheese, shaved

• A handful of sliced almonds

• salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Slice the delicate squash in 1/2 inch circles, scooping out and discarding the seeds from the inside of each circular piece and discarding the ends. Place the sliced squash in a large mixing bowl. Roughly chop 2 out of the 3 sprigs of rosemary along with most of the sage, and add to the bowl.

In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the olive oil, honey, nutmeg, and ground cloves. Pour this mixture over the squash, and toss to coat evenly. Place the squash slices on parchment covered baking sheets, not overlapping pieces to ensure even browning. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. If any honey-olive oil liquid remains in the mixing bowl, brush it onto the squash before popping the baking sheets in the oven. Roast the squash for 20 minutes, flip the pieces and rotate the trays, then return to the oven for another 15 to 20 minutes or until golden.

While the squash is roasting, sear the shallots. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. While the butter is heating, slice the shallots into quarters. Place the sliced side down into the hot skillet, and add the rest of the sage leaves and the whole leaves of the third rosemary sprig. Toast until the butter is golden and the edges of the shallots are browned, then turn the heat to low and keep warm until the squash is done.

Plate the squash with the shallots and herbs along with shaved pecorino romano, slivered almonds, and a bit more salt and pepper to top it all off.

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This recipe happened in a rather unplanned way as I was wanting to experiment with some ice cream on a weeknight. When I opened the pantry cupboards, a large bar of baking chocolate, cocoa, and a bottle of blackstrap molasses caught my eye. I started with adding just a spoonful of the bitter molasses, then another, and a bit more until the chocolate custard heating on the stovetop had just the slightest hint of it. The result was a bittersweet chocolate ice cream with the slightest flavors of molasses, almost undetectable but just enough to add a bit of a unique twist.

If you don’t know that there’s blackstrap molasses hidden away in this bittersweet chocolate ice cream, you might only taste chocolate with a bit of something different about it. Blackstrap molasses, unlike regular molasses, is bitter with smokey undertones and not as sweet. It can quickly overpower a recipe if too much is added, and so just a few spoonfuls are used here to create the slightest interesting flavor. If you use regular molasses, it will likely taste a bit sweeter without as much of a flavor kick as blackstrap.

If molasses is a flavor you dislike, you may leave it out and make a rich bittersweet chocolate ice cream instead. If you decide to keep it in the recipe, feel free to taste along and add the spoonfuls to your preference.

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Bittersweet Chocolate and Blackstrap Molasses Ice Cream

Makes just over 1 1/2 quart

• 2 cups heavy cream

• 1 1/2 cup milk 

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 cup sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1/2 cup cocoa powder

• 150 grams of dark chocolate (preferably 70 percent cocoa solids or greater)

• 3 tablespoons molasses

• 6 egg yolks

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, whisk together the heavy cream, milk, salt, vanilla and sugar. Add the cocoa powder, chocolate, and molasses and stir until the chocolate is fully melted. While the chocolate cream is mixture is heating, whisk the egg yolks in a heatproof bowl. When the chocolate cream is steaming and has reached a temperature of 175 degrees, scoop 1/3 cup of the hot custard and whisk it into the egg yolks (do not skip this step, as pouring all the milk in at once will cause the eggs to curdle with the rapid temperature change). Continuing to whisk, add another 1/3 cup of the hot custard, then a final 1/3 cup. Finally, pour the remainder of the hot chocolate custard mixture into the bowl and whisk until completely combined. Allow to cool, then place in the refrigerator.

Chill the custard in the refrigerator overnight or for at least four hours until very cold. It will become very thick and almost pudding-like.

After chilling, churn the custard according to your ice cream machine's directions. For a soft serve consistency, serve immediately. To firm the ice cream, place in a freezer-safe container and allow to freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight, then serve.

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