Earlier this week, we were slated to bring a soup to family dinner with Alex's parents. I spied our last local pie pumpkin languishing on the counter and thought of squash soup. I typically make winter squash soup by oven roasting the squash, sautéing onions and garlic in oil, and then pureeing everything together. This time I was exhausted from another bout of sinus pain. I didn't feel like dicing the onion and happened upon another thought - what if I roasted everything together?

The lazy girl's inclination turned out to be a stroke of brilliance. Pumpkin halves, onion, garlic, and parsnip bathed in an oil-rubbed sauna for about 40 minutes while I put my feet up and watched a football bowl game. On the second rack of the oven, I roasted the pumpkin seeds.

Then I simply scraped all the slightly charred, softened vegetables into a pot and added stock from the freezer and herbs from the backyard. I whizzed the soup smooth with the immersion blender and topped with roasted seeds. The resulting soup is earthy and rich with caramelized flavors from the roasted vegetables.

I've been at this home cooking thing for a long time and I don't usually change much about the way I make traditional dishes. But sometimes the simplest thing surprises me. I'll never make squash soup the old way again.

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Added to Simple Lives Thursday #77.

Do you ever come home to an empty fridge but still want something delicious to eat?

We recently returned from the Mid Atlantic coast. Without time for a trip to the grocery store, I wanted a simple healthy meal we could make from pantry ingredients. Knowing that we had plenty of home canned tomatoes in the larder, I invented this recipe for tomato soup and served it with toasted cheese.

This tomato soup is made from only seven ingredients which are found in a well stocked pantry. The oven roasting adds depth of flavor and caramelized goodness.

Pantry Roasted Tomato Soup

Two quarts whole or pieced tomatoes One medium onion, chopped roughly Three cloves garlic, halved (or one half teaspoon garlic powder) 1/4 cup olive oil 1 ice cube block of frozen pesto (substitute a tablespoon of dried italian herbs if no pesto is on hand) 1 Parmesan rind (we keep these in a ziploc bag in the freezer per Lisa the Waitress' brilliant suggestion) 1 tsp balsamic vinegar salt and pepper

Strain tomatoes from their juice, reserving it for later. Place tomato pieces, fresh onion and garlic in a large roasting pan with a heavy pinch of salt. Drizzle olive oil over top and place in a 350 degree oven for one to two hours, stirring occasionally.

Bring tomato juice + 1 cup water (use stock if you have it for richer flavor) to a simmer. Add the Parmesan rind, pesto block or herbs, and several twists of freshly ground black pepper.

Remove onions, garlic, and tomatoes from the oven. Blend with an immersion or standard blender until smooth. Adjust seasonings and add the balsamic vinegar.

Add to the juice mixture and simmer for a half hour. Serve warm.

Following this recipe exactly yields a tasty basic tomato soup. There are plenty of variations on the recipe depending on what's in your pantry. For instance:

Omit parm rind if you don't have it (you may need to increase salt)
Stir in some cream just before serving
Top with sour cream, shredded cheese or plain yogurt
Substitute chili powder, cilantro and cumin for the italian herbs
Dice onions and garlic before roasting and skip the blender for a rustic style soup