Fellow Mudcateers, welcome to the Unannounced Grand Opening of the Mudcat Soup Kitchen. I, WyoWoman, will be one of your chefs du content today.

The soup du jour is my own special creation, Butternut Squash Cream of Sweet Potato Mushroom Soup.

Whew.

The recipe follows. I don't have time to make the bread, so would one of you other Cookin' 'Cats be able to bake us up some good homemade bread that would go well with this flavor soup? Also, who's on the list for making the dessert tonight? Please share your recipes ... for purposes of archiving and drooling ...

And remember, those who cook, don't have to clean ... Unless, of course, we want to. And if you'll harmonize with me while we do dishes, I'll probably want to.

Here's my soup recipe:

Go to the store and buy a bunch of butternut squash, acorn squash and sweet potatoes. While you're there, you'll want to make sure you have plenty of mushrooms, onions, chicken broth and some good, plain yogurt (or sour cream if you're that sort of person). Sausage is the piece de resistance for this soup, if you're a meat-eater, so get some Jimmy Dean low-fat sausage (or fat, drippy cholesterol-laden stuff if you're that kind of person).

Now then. Once you're home, heat the oven to 350 and bake all those squash and sweet potatoes -- for about an hour, or until they feel soft when you squeeze 'em. (I'd recommend you use a pot-holder. No, not THAT kind of pot.) You'll want to toss some of the squashes and potatoes in the fridge to have on hand for lunches and such anyway, so cook more than you need. They're a staple in any self-respecting kitchen this time of year (here in the Northern Hemisphere, I mean. This recipe may make you Aussies and Kiwis itch ...)

Now. Slice an onion. Slice as many mushrooms as make you happy. (Not THAT kind of mushroom. You'll need to concentrate.) Heat some olive oil in a big-ass soup pot. Or butter if you're that kind of person.

Saute the sliced onion and mushrooms in the heated olive oil. When they're nice -- translucent for the onions, slightly browned for the 'shrooms -- get a slotted spoon and fish the mushrooms and onions out of the heated oil. Place on a paper towel to drain, or let them soak in their own oil, if you're that kind of ... well, you know ...

Now then. Get one of those big, baked, butternut squash and one of the acorn squash and scoop out the seeds. (discard or munch the seeds -- your choice) Squoosh the squash pulp into the olive oil (careful, that stuff's hot!) Stir around and let it start cooking ... Get three or so of the baked sweet potatoes and scoop the meat out of them. Put this in with the squash and stir around. See if the dog will eat the potato peel. (Yeah, mine won't either, but I keep telling him they're loaded with vitamins.)

Get your chicken broth (I use the 32 ounce non-fat kind in a paper carton for easy pouring) and pour some in the pot; stir with the squash and potatoes. Now, get your handy-dandy food-processing wand and whhrrrrrrrrr ffffsssssspppttttt whrrrrrrrr oooh, oooh, ooooh yess, yessssss. Wha? Oh, gosh .. sorry...

Ladies, never ever store that vibrator in the drawer with your food-processor wand ...

Ok, keep adding the broth and pureeing the veggie mixture But don't get it too thin. Now, glop in a couple of cups of yogurt and stir madly. At this point, I put in spices that make me happy. In my case, these are: Nutmeg and cayene pepper, salt and pepper and some PickaPeppa sauce. You might want Worcestershire sauce or something milder(weinie).

At some time during this process, you have crumbled up the sausage and have cooked it nice and crispy in a separate skillet. Now, you take the sausage (yes, by all means, give the dog a bite. He's been so patient) and the mushroom and onion mixture and stir them into the puree. Thin with broth to a consistency that makes you happy. In my case, thicker is happier.

Garnish with a dollop of yogurt and a sprinkle of nutmeg, or whatever tickles your fancy.

And hope whoever was making the bread has his/her timing right.

Jeri? Kat? One of the Men of Mudcat?

Enjoy.

WyoWoman, a.k.a. Pansy Rue Twidgett, purveyor of great soups