Creamy Butternut-Leek Bisque

My first bite of this Butternut-Leek Bisque was a bit disappointing. It seemed flat and bland, but as I ate more, it seemed to grow on me. It's earthy and hearty. I can imagine eating it with a sandwich on a snowy cold day. And I think the quinoa actually adds to it, though it made me a bit nervous as I was cooking it. However, I may have enjoyed cooking it more than I am enjoying eating it.

I haven't cooked with a lot of leeks in my time. I knew that they had to be thoroughly washed because they are often filled with sand. I really enjoyed cooking them until they were tender. I love how that green popped out and made me feel as though spring was immanent.

The next step, toasting the quinoa with the leeks made me a little nervous. I've never cooked with quinoa, and I've never really enjoyed it when I have eaten it. The tricky part with toasting it was that it kept sticking to the sides of the pot. I was supposed to stir it constantly and I found myself continuously scraping the sides.

What I really liked was when I added the squash and the colors just really popped. The pale orange with the soft, but bright green of the leeks was just downright pretty. This picture does not do it justice.

I should have taken a picture of it, but the bisque quickly lost that prettiness when the quinoa plumped up. Oh well.

One thing I did learn, it's time to get a new blender. This blender was old and used when I got it, which I can't even remember. It was probably an old one of Mom and Dad's or something. It did the job it was supposed to do, but it practically needed defibrillation by the time it was done.

Overall, I'll probably never make this recipe again. I've had better butternut squash soup, but it was an interesting process. It's added to my experiences and my knowledge of cooking.