Squash Soup Plus Tomato

I make a lot of green soups in the summer (peas, avocados, zucchini, stuff like that), but it hadn't really occurred to me that in the winter, soups are orange.
This one was made from two types of winter squash (delicata and a little acorn squash that had gotten so old, it really needed to be eaten), some homemade vegetable broth, a shallot sautéed in butter, some cumin and cayenne and salt, and a nice dab of crème fraîche. And since I had a little homemade tomato sauce in the fridge, that went in, too. What a neat trick. Good enough to actually think of thawing some tomato sauce for the next time I want orange soup.

Technique: Cut squashes in halves, remove seeds, and microwave, face-down, in a covered glass dish to which you've added a sprinkle of water, for 10 minutes or until easily pierced. Meanwhile, sauté sliced shallot in butter until tender. When squash is cool enough to handle, scrape the flesh into a soup pot and add the shallots. Pour in the tomato sauce, vegetable broth and your seasonings, and mix it all together, breaking up the squash chunks. Now dump this all into the blender and give it a hearty whirl until everything is very smooth. Wipe out the soup pot and pour the puréed mix in, along with some crème fraîche. Stir well. Heat the soup, check the seasonings, and take a picture.