A tale of frozen vegetables: butternut squash and cauliflower bisque

The Story: It was 10 PM. It was freezing. I was broke, coming home from work late, and hungry (this is, on average, two nights per week at least). I wandered into the local grocery and aimlessly and miserably perused the frozen veggies aisle. Sometimes I take comfort here in a bag of frozen spinach. This night, that was not in the cards for me. I instead saw a frozen box of Southland-brand* butternut squash and an idea came to mine...

*A note on Southland: if you don't know what these frozen delights are, you're missing out. A brand that purports itself as 'Southern cooking', they make insanely cheap, dairy-free, healthy and delicious frozen pureed yams, butternut squash, etc. You can get them for 99 cents at your local grocery. My dear friend Laura F. introduced me to them and I am forever grateful. As a side, or a snack, or a soup-base, as you'll soon see, these things are great.

The ingredients:

• I box Southland frozen butternut squash
• 1 whole cauliflower
• 1 tablespoon butter (optional)
• 1 small (juice box-size) container of chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme

The cooking:

Stem cauliflower and steam chopped up bunches in a pot with an inch of water. When soft, drain. Toss in the butter and dried thyme. Let sit. Defrost the squash and pour in with the cauliflower. Stir vigorously and the cauliflower will naturally break apart. Toss in the chicken broth, heat, and you're done. It's easy and delicious. You can puree if you like it silky-smooth, but I prefer mine chunky.

The serving:

Ideally, in front of the telly with a warm blanket over your lap. Tomorrow is another day, my friend!