Butternut Squash Soup

Mama Bird has been pretty amazing recently.  Not only did she magically produce a brand new immersion blender from our basement when I mentioned I was thinking of buying one, she signed us up for a Community Supported Agriculture.  If you don't know what that is, it means that every Wednesday for the next two months we get a box of locally grown vegetables.  I was quite excited about it when she brought the idea up to me, because I knew that it meant I'd be getting vegetables to play with that I had never cooked.  Sure enough, last week we had a butternut squash and some leeks.  I haven't messed with the leeks, although Mama Bird stole the potatoes that were meant to become the chips for the fish and chips I'll be making sometime this week.  Hopefully Thursday or Friday, if Skyrim doesn't steal my entire life.

I wasn't sure I'd like this soup, because I've never been a huge squash fan, and I don't tend to enjoy sweetness.  But I liked this.  I dipped some bread in it at first, but I don't think it needs that.  It tastes thick, like it has cream, but it's all healthy.  I'm hoping to eat it for lunch this week to make up for the amount of naughtiness I've been eating- remember that coconut ice?  It's all gone now.  I throw out the remaining third after I gained enough strength to resist it.  Sadly, I didn't ever take a picture of it...   nor do I have a picture of this soup.  It just doesn't look great, sadly.

But it tastes good.  If you want a light healthy soup, give it a shot.

Recipe from A Year of Slow Cooking.

1 butternut squash

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 onions

4 cups vegetable broth

2 apples

1.5 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon coriander

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Cut squash in half longways, microwaving if the skin is too tough.
   
2. Scoop out seeds.
   
3. Coat in olive oil and roast at 400 for 15 minutes.
   
4. In slow cooker, combine cubed and peeled apples, onion, broth, and spices.
   
5. Cover and cook on high while waiting for squash.
   
6. Peel squash, and cut into cubes.
   
7. Cook on low for 8 hours.
   
8. Blend.