Mr. T is angry and he's in my stomach.

Various pop culture entities make regular appearances in my stomach. They usually have an agenda and can be very persuasive. By far the worst is when the Tribbles come by and scream for brownies. Sure, Roddenberry will have you believe that Tribbles are non-verbal fuzz balls that sort of trill or chirp like our rotten little (furry-slug) kitten Leo. In actuality, in times of ultimate need, Tribbles are capable of emitting a terrifying screech-like howl, and they usually use it to demand that I eat brownies.

Tonight, I'm hosting Mr. T, and he's not happy. He told me at lunch "I pity the fool who eats that fish burrito", but I didn't listen, and ate it anyway. After all, everyone else was doing it. Then tonight, I made a roasted vegetable soup, and put in a little too much pepper, and he said "Oh man, you made me mad now!". And is he ever. Well, this sucka' has learned her lesson.

Roasted Veggie Soup (which Sean has willingly eaten and likened to vegetable gravy)

• 1 really small squash, halved & scooped (whatever you like except spaghetti)- I used a freaky looking squished orange one)
• 2-3 small zucchinis or 1 big one, cut into large chunks
• 2-3 parsnips, peeled
• 3 smallish carrots, peeled
• 1 small red onion, peeled & quartered
• 3 whole cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 L of chicken or vegetable stock
• sea salt & fresh ground pepper
• sage & turmeric, to taste & for colour.
• 1 T maple syrup (optional)

Toss veggies in olive oil, season with salt & pepper, and roast at 425 F for about 40 mins, or until tender. Remove veggies to a food processor or blender (scoop squash flesh out and discard shell, squeeze soft garlic out and discard skins). Add a couple cups of heated broth, and blend. Add broth until soup is smooth and consistency of, well, thick gravy, I guess. Season with sage, turmeric, salt & pepper to taste. A little maple syrup plays nicely off the sweetness of the squash and carrots. A yam might be a nice addition for a change, actually, you could use pretty much any combination of root veggies, and experiment. Just don't overdo the pepper.