NH-grown Sweet Potatoes!

Have I mentioned that one of my favorite kitchen tools is an immersion blender?  One of our local farms, Shagbark Farm, has turned out an unusual beaut of a sweet potato called 'Bonita'--it's delish!  Have I mentioned, too, that I love using up foods that can see my compost pile on the horizon?  Yup.  Guilty as charged.
There are some in my circle who think I should call my not-yet-written cookbook, 'WTF, Just Throw It In...'  I swear, some of the best, most delicious food that comes out of this kitchen is the result of not being able to bear throwing food away.  Thank you 70's and "There are children starving in China...."  You might wince at the thought of using less than perfect ingredients; I say, don't refuse to.  This soup used up pears with soft brown spots (I got a little greedy at White Gate Farm's booth a couple Saturdays ago), sour cream that was on its last, er, drip, and fresh dill that got slightly knabbed by the frost last week.  It's definitely going to appear in the pages of my book:

Break out your Dutch oven...and have good stock ready.

• Saute 1 coarsely chopped lg red onion in a Tbsp of butter until softened
• Add healthy sprinkles of these spices, enough to coat the onion well: cardamom, cinnamon, and garam masala (Don't have a couple of those?  Use nutmeg, clove, coriander, chili, cumin, ginger, bay leaf...in any combination.)
• Clear an opening in the center of the soup pot, add another small knob of butter, cook until foaming, then add coarsely chopped carrots and sweet potato:
• 1-1/2 lbs carrots
• 3 lbs sweet potato (about 2 of the colossal gems from your local farmer, again such as Shagbark Farm's)
• Toss everything well, then add 6 cups of stock (+/-).  Use your best, whether veggie, chicken....

Now, if you happen to have apples or pears (fall here in NH dictates the fruit on my counter) sitting around nearly rotting, then chop up what you will and throw 'em in.  Peel their skin a bit, perhaps.  Certainly remove their seeds.

Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer and cook gently for 35-40 minutes, depending on how large your chunks of potato and carrot are.

To finish it off, add:

• 1/2 cup cream, or 1/2 n 1/2, or milk, or plain yogurt....

This soup wants to be pureed, so either blend it up or use an immersion blender.  Get one of those if you don't have one, especially if you like making soup.  It's the only way to go.

Serve it up with toasted or grilled ciabatta points and a swirl of yogurt or sour cream.  I had previously squeezed lime juice into my sour cream for an eggplant-almond tortilla pie, and had just enough to garnish 4 bowls of this soup!  Now that's unplanned resourcefulness!

Oh, and this recipe makes a huge pot of soup--certainly enough for 8.  Hubby oomphed, "Delicious, wicked good!" out of his first bite.  I don't think you'll be disappointed either.  Luscious and velvety is an understatement :)  And I definitely need to get more of those 'Bonitas'!