This is such a great soup that I don't really have the words to describe how great it is. I really like the idea of cooking the squash insides into the soup, for some reason.

The original recipe suggested serving it with cinnamon toast croutons, but I found they just dissolved into mush in the soup.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

• 1 butternut squash, about 3 lbs.
• 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 1.5 tsp. salt
• 6 cups water
• 1/2 cup half and half (or cream, if you're feeling decadent)
• 1 tsp. dark brown sugar

Wash and dry the squash, then carefully cut it in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and stringy bits in the center and reserve.

Melt the butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook until they begin to turn translucent. Add the reserved squash innards and cook about 5 minutes, until the butter begins to take on a yellow color from the squash. Add six cups of water and bring to a simmer.

Add the squash to a vegetable steamer, and put on top of the pot. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the squash is tender and fully cooked.

Remove the squash pieces from the steamer and let cool. Scoop the flesh from the squash pieces into a large bowl. Strain the steaming liquid into the bowl, and set the pot aside.

Carefully blend the squash flesh and the liquid until smooth. Use several batches, if necessary. Add the puree back to the Dutch oven and heat until hot. Add the cream, brown sugar, and serve.

Serves 4 as a main course.

Source: America's Test Kitchen

This is a pie the I've served to several people and they've all loved it. I know it sounds scary, but it's good. I don't use the coffee because I found it to be too strong in the finished pie (I'm not a coffee lover). I usually use a vanilla flavored soymilk instead. You can experiement and try anything you like. Also, don't let the tofu scare you. You really can not taste it.

SILKEN CHOCOLATE TOFU PIE

• 1 block silken tofu
• 1 regular size bag of semi sweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 Cup strongly brewed black coffee
• 1-2 Tablespoon(s) vanilla flavoring
• Graham Cracker pie crust

1. Melt chocolate chips in the microwave or on stovetop.

2. Blend together: tofu, chocolate chips, coffee, and vanilla.

3. Pour into graham cracker crust and chill 1-2 hours in the freezer, or 4 or more hours in the refrigerator.

Source: Vegweb.com

This is the frosting that goes with the chocolate cake my family has made for birthdays ever since I can remember. This makes a fairly thick frosting that hardens as it sits. Cream cheese used to be sold in small 3 oz. packets, but I haven't been able to find those in a while.

CHOCOLATE CREAM CHEESE ICING

• 3 oz. cream cheese
• 1 Tbsp. milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• dash salt
• 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted (2 squares)
• 2.5 cups confectioners sugar, sifted

Let the cream cheese come to room temperature. Mix in the milk, vanilla, salt, and chocolate. Mix in the confectioners sugar slowly. (Note, sifting is an important step here, otherwise you'll get lots of lumps.) You may have to adjust the final frosting with a very tiny amount of milk or additional sugar until it is the correct consistency.

Makes enough to frost and fill a two-layer cake.

Family legend has it that this is a recipe straight from the Old Country. I got it from my grandmother, who must have gotten it from someone on my grandfather's side of the family. Regardless of whether or not its authenticity is true, I really like this bread. Of the recipes I've seen, this is the rye bread that has the most rye in it. The one I found on Gourmet's web site had 1 part rye to 6 parts white flour. What's the point?

A word of warning: this dough is *very* sticky, especially when you first start to knead it. Use lots of flour to cover everything; hands, breadboard, knife, etc. You may want to just strip naked and roll around in a bunch of flour.

SWEDISH RYE BREAD

• 1 envelope yeast
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup melted shortening
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 cups dark rye flour
• 4 cups of white flour, plus additional as needed and more for flouring things
• 2 cups water

Proof the yeast in the sugar and 1/4 cup water. Once it's foamy, add the rest of the water, shortening, molasses and brown sugar and mix well. Stir in the rye, then the white flour, and add addditional white flour as necessary to form a dough.

Turn out onto a floured bread board and knead until smooth and elastic. The dough will be very sticky. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, and turn so both sides are oiled. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 2 hours.

Punch down, and form into loaves. Put into two ungreased loaf pans and let rise again until doubled, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 F and bake for 45 minutes or until they sound hollow when thumped on the bottom.

Makes 2 loaves.

Source: Winnie Ruth Olson

This is a fairly simple cake that my family has used for birthday cakes since time immemorial. I strongly suspect that it's a red velvet cake without the red food coloring, but I'm not sure.

COCOA VELVET CAKE

2/3 cup shortening
1.5 cup sugar

1 cup well-shaken buttermilk

1.75 cup sifted flour
1.5 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. cocoa

2 large eggs

Grease and flour two 8" cake pans. Preheat oven to 350 deg F.

Cream the shortening and sugar together. Mix in the buttermilk.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt and cocoa. Gradually add to the shortening mixture and mix well for several minutes. (If you have a mixer, 2 minutes. If not, beat until your arm feels like it's going to fall off.)

Add the eggs and beat again. (With a mixer, two minutes. Without one, until your arm actually does fall off.)

Bake at 350 deg F for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool before removing from the pan.

Frost with Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing. If you want to get really fancy (and I suggest you do), mix about one third of the frosting with about 1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam or similar. Use that for between the cake layers.