Soup's On!

I've made this recipe twice now and I have to say, this soup is comfort in a bowl.

It's thick, creamy, flavorful, and easy to make.  The hardest part of the entire recipe, is peeling the butternut squash!  Seriously - it's an impossibly vegetable to get one hand around while peeling with the other.  This time I did as Ed suggested and cut the squash into smaller pieces first, then peeled it.  It was much easier to manage that way.

It's a quick recipe and it doesn't take long at all for the squash to get soft enough to blend.  The first time I made it I tried my immersion blender but it was taking too long so I just scooped the ingredients out and put them in the blender and pureed it that way.  This time I went straight from pot to blender the same way.  Scooped the ingredients into the blender, got them nice and smooth, then dumped them into a large bowl.  When it was all blended, I put it all back into the original pot to get everything nice and hot again.

It was a big hit with all who tried it.  And it's a perfect cozy soup for this time of year.  

Here's the recipe:
 

INGREDIENTS
2 cups vegetable stock
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and roughly chopped (I had Gala apples on hand, so used that)
1 medium (about 3-4 lbs) butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced
1 white onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 sprig fresh sage
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
A pinch of ground cinnamon and nutmeg
1/2 cup canned (unsweetened) coconut milk


DIRECTIONS
1.  Add vegetable stock, garlic*, carrot, apple, butternut squash, sage, onion*, salt, pepper, cayenne, cinnamon, and nutmeg a large stockpot.  Toss to combine.

2. Cook on medium-high until the mixture reaches a simmer.  Then cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the vegetables are all tender and mash easily with a fork.

3.  Remove and discard the sage.  Stir in the coconut milk.

4.  Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth.  (Or you can transfer the soup in two batches into a traditional blender and puree until smooth, being extremely careful not to fill the blender too full with a hot liquid.)  

5.  Taste, and season with additional salt, pepper, and cayenne as needed.

6.  Serve warm, topped with your desired garnishes - a drizzle of coconut milk, some croutons, a sprinkling of black pepper or paprika, chopped herbs.



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2018: Power Over The Green River
2017: The Only Color For Miles
2016: Natural Desert
2015: Ed Humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa
2014: NOT An Oasis
2013: Drop The Flag And Take Me Home
2012: Cottonwood Trading Company
2011: Service With A Smile
2010: Getting The Red Out, One Barn At A Time
2009: Obamaduck!
2008: How A Four Year Old Can Make You Feel Like Crap For Trying To Get Out Of Doing Yard Work
2007: Florida Fro
2006: Hail To The McGriddle Gods
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!