What to do with a butternut squash

My parents were given a butternut squash the other day by a keen gardener friend but as they were going away they passed it on to me. This seems to be getting a bit of a habit as they did this to me once before with a marrow. I remember being a bit stumped as to what to do with the marrow ending up making some delicious chutney with it but this time I thought I'd stick with the less involved soup option so this morning the twins and I made Simple Butternut Squash Soup (see recipe below). If this soup had come in a tin then it would have lived up to the saying ... it was exactly what it said on the tin ... extremely simple to make and nothing but butternut squash ... apart from the onions, garlic and stock. It looked great with its wonderful autumnal colour and quite thick consistency so we had some for lunch. I have to say that I obviously enjoyed it more than the twins but they did have some so I feel like I've been a good parent today and managed to get some fresh vegetables into my little ones so well done me.

Ingredients
15ml (1 tbsp) olive oil
30g (1 oz) butter
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
900g (2 lbs) butternut, peeled and sliced
900ml (1½ pints) vegetable or chicken stock
salt and freshly ground pepper
parsley, for garnishing

Method
Heat the oil and butter in a large saucepan, add the onion and garlic and gently sauté.
When the onion has softened after about 5 minutes, add the butternut and stock and stir well. Bring to the boil. Simmer for 25 minutes or until the butternut is soft.
Blend the soup with a hand-held blender. Season to taste and garnish with parsley (or a swirl of cream if you're a bit naughty like me).