August is the worst month for a gardener and cook (who also has a full time job) to blog about food. There are beans and tomatoes to can, the fall garden to plant, the meals to cook. I enjoy all of those things much more when the thermometer isn't stretching toward 100 degrees.

So I’m taking a shortcut this week and posting a recipe Neal gave me. It’s a great way to use your overabundance of squash. If you like the soup, cut up one pound of squash and put it in a freezer bag so you’ll be able to recapture the taste of summer this winter.

Italian Squash Soup

Ingredients:

2-3 cloves fresh garlic
1 lb. cubed squash
1 lb. cubed potato
1 small sliced carrot
1 can crushed tomato
2 cans vegetable broth
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. dried parsley

Cooking:

Finely chop garlic. Heat olive oil just short of smoking and add garlic. Sauté until lightly browned and then add squash. Cook for ten minutes stirring frequently. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for one-half hour.

Beth’s addition: throw in homemade noodles at the end (or any other kind of grain) to add a special touch.