Up at 9am. Halved and seeded acorn squash. In a dish with a bit of water. In the microwave for 7 minutes. Peel and chop a large carrot and onion. Reserve about a quarter-cup of chopped onion. Ah, no tomato paste. But there’s a half-cup of leftover tomato sauce.
Sweat onion and carrot in a half-cup of butter. Wipe clean the pound of mushrooms, pulling off larger stems, adding them to the pot. Let squash cool a bit, cut off skin and cut into big blocks. Give a scant pound of white potatoes — pierced skins — the same treatment, for 4 minutes at first.