soup

I think it’s safe to say that I’m not the only one on the internet with a soup recipe today.

From what I hear, it’s been raining on the West Coast for the past week, and every California food blogger I follow has spent the whole time making soup. Who can blame them? Even here in Utah, where it’s not raining, it’s been cold and gray and just DARK all the time, so of course I’ve made my fair share. And it’s all culminating in one big soup throwdown in the blogosphere today.

So here is my submission: A yummy spiced butternut squash soup with apples, carrots, and onions from the archives of the lovely blog Daily Garnish. I have to say, if you were considering making the Mexican Squash Soup I posted a few weeks ago, make this one instead. Then make that one next week! This soup, with the apples and spices, is so warm and fragrant… it’s perfect for when it’s midnight-dark at dinnertime and you need something to cheer you up. It’s actually what I was making when I took the picture that’s now my blog header. See?

Apples, carrots, and squash, oh my!

Seeing that squash on my cutting board reminds me that something exciting happened this past Friday: a Trader Joe’s opened in Salt Lake!! I drove by on Saturday and the crowds looked INSANE – I am definitely staying away until after the holidays. I already have about 5 grocery stores too many in my regular rotation, but I’m excited to have Trader Joe’s around for things like pre-chopped butternut squash. (Now you see where this tangent came from.) Sadly, no wine at this new TJ’s because we’re in Utah… sigh… but I’ll take it!

Anyway, I love soups like this because the only dishes you get dirty are a peeler, a cutting board and knife, and a soup pot and a ladle. Unless you’re like me and splatter soup all over the kitchen as you’re cooking, there’s very little clean-up involved. Enjoy!

Spiced Butternut Squash Soup

Recipe from Daily Garnish

Time: about 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients:

1 yellow onion, chopped
1 medium-sized butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and chopped into about 1/2-inch chunks
2 apples, cored and chopped but peels left on (I used Gala)
2 carrots, chopped
4 cups vegetable broth
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp curry powder
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup almond milk (or your choice of milk)

Instructions:

In a soup pot or large dutch oven, saute the onion with a bit of olive oil over medium heat until until softened and starting to brown. Add squash, apples, carrots, broth, and spices (everything except the almond milk). Stir, cover and bring to a boil.

Simmer over medium-low heat until vegetables are soft and even starting to look a bit mushy. This will depend on how small you’ve cubed up your veggies, but generally takes me around 45 minutes.

With an immersion blender, blend until smooth. (You could also transfer the soup in batches to a regular blender and then to a bowl.)

Remove from heat and stir in the almond milk.

Serve hot!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Do you know what you’re eating?

Not for dinner, silly. What kind of question is that? If you’re like me, you’ve been dreaming about Thanksgiving dinner for the past two weeks. I have lists made, not only of the dishes I’m making and the groceries that I (still – eek!) have to buy, but of when I should prepare what. Organization is kind of my thing.

Anyway, no, I’m not asking if you’ve given any thought to your Thanksgiving dinner, because I’m sure you have. I’m talking about lunch, the oft-forgotten Thanksgiving meal. If you’re eating dinner around noon, you can obviously forego lunch. But if you eat Thanksgiving dinner around 3:00 or 4:00, as my family typically does, you might find yourself in the kitchen come 1:00, trying to put together a sandwich or salad out of scraps from the fridge. It’s kind of weird to realize that in the frenzy of dinner planning, you’ve totally forgotten to plan a lunch… especially if you have holiday house guests. You don’t want anyone going hungry!

Luckily, my mom is always prepared (in this situation, as well as most others). Her solution is soup.

Soup for Thanksgiving lunch – it’s perfect! It’s autumnal and comforting, but not too filling, so you’ll still be able to stuff yourself in a few hours. Mom likes to serve her lunchtime soup in big mugs, although you can feel free to use a bowl.

This soup has a butternut squash base and uses chipotle chiles in adobo sauce for a nice little Mexican kick. Top with cilantro and a squeeze of lime, and you have the perfect light but satisfying lunch.

Mexican Butternut Squash Soup

Hands-on time

15 mins

Cook time

55 mins

Total time

1 hour 10 mins

Author: Coffee & Quinoa

Yields: 6-8

Ingredients

1 medium-sized butternut squash, peeled and chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, chopped
5 cups vegetable broth
1 bay leaf
2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (or more if you’d like it spicy!)
2 tsp cumin
½ tsp coriander
½ cup non-dairy milk (I used regular unsweetened almond milk)
cilantro, for serving
lime wedges, for serving

Instructions

First, chop all vegetables. To make the butternut squash easier to peel and chop, consider piercing it several times with a sharp knife and nuking for 2 minutes or so. This softens the skin and makes it just that much less likely that you’ll cut your finger off!
Heat a bit of olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and saute 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and saute another 2-3 minutes, until the onion is softened and beginning to brown.
Add the rest of the vegetables (squash, carrots and celery), vegetable broth, and bay leaf. Simmer until vegetables are tender and starting to get mushy, about 45-50 minutes.
While soup is simmering, chop chiles, cilantro and lime wedges.
Remove bay leaf from the soup. (If you don’t, it’s no big deal. I actually forgot and it turned out fine!) Add chopped chiles and puree until smooth using an immersion blender. (If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can transfer the soup in batches to a blender and then into another pot or a bowl.)
Stir in cumin, coriander, and milk.Taste and adjust seasonings - you can add more chiles if you’d like it spicier!
Serve hot. Garnish with chopped cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice.

Notes

Adapted from http://www.anothermarvelousmeal.com/2011/10/mexican-spiced-butternut-squash-soup.html

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