Sorry for the not so appealing looking photo!  This is an autumn staple in our kitchen, named for an old friend who once prepared it for us.

This soup simmers together all the goodness of the season.  I start with chopping a couple of onions.  I tend to make soup in large batches and two onions is just about right for the amount I make.  We eat it for a meal, have it as leftovers, freeze some for the future.  Sometimes it’s nice to cook the onion slices up in a bit of oil, sometimes I don’t bother.  The next thing to add to your pot is squash and yams.  You want at least 4-5 different kinds of squash/yams.  For best results use ones of different colors, flavors and textures.  I don’t bother to peel the squash with soft skin, but for some varieties this may be necessary.  For the soup above I used what we happened to have from our garden: butternut squash, acorn squash, delicata squash, two kinds of pumpkins, etc.  Our friend Katherine used to add shiitake mushrooms.  I don’t usually, simply because I don’t usually have them on hand.  If you do, add them now.  Just barely cover the whole thing with high quality chicken stock- homemade is best.  Bring it to a simmer.  Cover and cook until the squash is soft.  Turn off the heat and add lots and lots of different greens, the more the merrier.  For the soup above we used: 3 kinds of kale, collards, rainbow chard, Brussels sprout greens, escarole, tatsoi, a bit of spinach and probably a few other things that I’m forgetting, all from our garden again.  This is the perfect use for all of those random greens left at the bottom of your CSA bag at the end of the week!  Stir them all in.  The broth should be hot enough to quickly cook them.  Serve with a dollop of light colored miso added to each bowl (this is our favorite brand).  Enjoy!