I do enjoy a good soup, well before it makes its way to my bowl. The line up of colorful ingredients waiting their turn for prep is appealing to me, the pleasant sound of onion and garlic sauteing in the pan, and the feeling you get when coming in from the cold and the aroma from the soup and the warmth of the house meet you at the door.

Pictured are two different soups that I hoped would be compatible in the bowl. One is a butternut squash with sweet potato, the other is a pea soup. They are a bit denser than usual to give them enough body to stay on their respective sides of the bowl. Neither was subjected to a lengthy boil down process in hopes of retaining the color and flavor of the vegetables. I sauteed the onion and garlic but steamed the other vegetables then pureed them before a brief simmer in their respective pots. An overnight cool down and chill seems to have finished the melding of the flavors.

Both seem a bit on the sweet side..wonder if the usual boiling process ordinarily takes that out..My daughter is coming up tomorrow and I will leave it to her more knowledgeable vegetarian taste to come up with a seasoning suggestion for both.

I am thinking thyme or sage in the squash soup but after years of using smoked ham in pea soup not sure if there is anything I will like quite as well.