Butternut Squash Soup

Well, since my idea for this blog was to only post happy things (or at least things that make ME happy) I thought I would share my recipe from supper tonight. I looked at several recipes and simplified and combined a few of them. So here are the directions, with commentary in between.
Butternut Squash Soup
1 medium butternut squash
2 T butter (real butter, not margarine. that stuff is horrid for you)
1 medium onion diced
3 cups vegetable stock
1/2 t pepper
1/4 t curry powder
8 oz cream cheese
First, choose a cold day (we have plenty of those lately), the day BEFORE you want to make the soup. On that very cold day, make your kitchen nice and cozy by baking the butternut squash. (many recipes call for peeling and cubing the raw squash - this is insane and will do nothing but result in blisters on the fingers... trust me, I've tried. Plus baking it beforehand eliminates the need for blending the soup in a food processor.) Split the squash in half lengthwise. Put 1/2 inch water in bottom of baking dish. Place squash upside down in baking dish. Bake at 375 approximately 45 minutes, or until the squash is soft. Let cool and spoon out into a container, and place in fridge.Next, since your oven is heated up put in a sheet of your favorite cookies.
The next day, in a large soup pot saute the onion in the butter until transparent. Add squash and sitr in the vegetable stock slowly. Add pepper and curry powder. Bring to simmer for about 10 minutes. Turn heat down to low. Cube the cream cheese and add to soup. Stir constantly until cream cheese melts. Heat through another 3-4 minutes.
Serve hot, preferably with French bread and a big fat salad. ("big fat" and "salad" don't really belong in the same sentence do they?)