I was so pleased with my 12-week CSA from Stone Acres in Stonington that I continued with the fall CSA. This time it is for fewer weeks and I am spending way less each week, this time $20. Much of the produce will be squash, Brussels sprouts and the like, from which I can make soup, side dishes and roasted vegetables. These are all autumn and winter veggies that I love. (What don’t I like? Not much.)

Squash soup, I decided next. Three weeks ago I ordered another 12 32-ounce canning jars locally, since I made and gave away 12 jars of gazpacho in early September. I dragged the new ones home, then went to my files for recipes. The one I found, that I had not written about since 2005, was Nancy Verde Barr’s recipe. Nancy still lives in Providence and this recipe is a real tummy warmer. It calls for canned tomatoes and sweet sausage, and I’d just put up in my garage a case of 28-ounce cans of Muir tomatoes and have sweet sausage in the freezer. Is it possible I had not made this soup in 15 years?

Squash Soup with Sausage and Tomatoes

From “Make It Italian” by Nancy Verde Barr (Knopf, New York, 2002)

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 medium onions, finely chopped

1 small carrot, finely chopped

4 to 5 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage, casing removed

salt, to taste

1/2 teaspoon hot red-pepper flakes

3 tablespoons fresh or 1 tablespoon dried oregano or marjoram

1 medium to large winter squash (about 2 pounds), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 5 cups)

2 1/2 cups marinara sauce or 1/2 pound plum tomatoes (about 3 cups chopped)

6 cups unsalted chicken or meat broth

3/4 cup coarse-grained yellow cornmeal

about 1 cup freshly grated pecorino or Parmesan cheese (optional)

Warm oil and add onions, carrot and garlic. Cook very slowly, over low heat, until ingredients are translucent, about 15 minutes.

Heat up the pan, tear sausages pieces and drop the pieces into the pan. Work quickly to break down the meat into bits about the size of shelled walnut halves and cook until it begins to brown.

Stir squash into the pan; season with salt and red pepper flakes and cook for about 8 minutes; until it is evenly warm. Pour in the sauce or tomatoes, season, cover the pan and cook over low heat until squash is just slightly tender, about five minutes. Pour in broth, bring to a boil and then slowly and steadily stir in the polenta or, if you are afraid of lumping, stir in two cups of the cooled broth into the cornmeal before adding it to the pan. Either way, keep stirring as you add the cornmeal to prevent lumping and sticking. Simmer until squash is tender and the cornmeal is cooked, about 25 minutes. Serve with or without grated cheese.

Variation: Squash soup with rice and tomatoes

Omit sausage from recipe above and replace cornmeal with 1 cup of rice. Cook soup until the rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Serve with cheese.

On the Side: Paul's Pasta

Paul's Pasta has been one of my favorite places for three decades. We drove there for dinner when we lived way up in Canterbury and when we lived in Old Lyme. It was a great lunch spot when I worked at Connecticut College. So why, since I live within walking distance, hadn't I been there in a long time?

I still wonder, but now I eat there often. The menu is pretty much the same, and that is a good thing. My favorite is still the chicken diablo; chicken breast served in a Dijon mustard, lemon and crushed pepper sauce with mushrooms over angel hair pasta, at $16.99, the most expensive dish at the restaurant. There is also my second favorite, spaghetti pie. Or carbonara or parmigiana, and Dorothy's meat lasagna. Did I mention they make their own pasta? And that you can buy the pasta alone and take it home so you can make your own dinner? But why would you?

Paul's Pasta

223 Thames St., Groton

(860) 445-5276

Lee White lives in Groton. She can be reached at leeawhite@aol.com.