Butternut Squash Soup

Merry Christmas everyone!! It’s been awhile since I’ve posted. I have been working and enjoying my family and friends. This past summer flew by. Before I knew it, September was here and gone. I flew to Colorado to visit family there. My oldest daughter bought my tickets for my birthday. Which I spent there. I had a blast. I spent three weeks in Colorado.

That’s Pikes Peak and my sister’s back yard.

It snowed while I was there. It was pretty, but I’m a California girl and prefer the warm sunny weather here.

We went to Garden Of The God’s.

My Aunt flew out and stayed a few days.

We did one of those painting classes. That was fun. I highly recommend that!

We drank a lot of bier and ate German food for my birthday. We had a blast!! We also took many family selfies.

I made pozole for my dad.

I also made this butternut squash soup. I had been kicking the flavors around in my head for several weeks and needed to make it. Test it. I had a house full of taste testers to experiment on, so I made for them. It was good!! Everyone loved it.

Here is what you’ll need. One butternut squash about 3lbs, 1 1/2 quarts vegetable broth, two apples, two carrots, two stalks of celery, one orange, one inch of ginger , one onion, two cloves of garlic, two tablespoons butter, one cup heavy cream, one teaspoon sea salt, half teaspoon pepper olive oil.

Peel your squash. Use gloves, a good peeler and a sharp knife. Scoop out the seeds.

Cut squash lengthwise into sticks. Then cut crosswise into an inch dice.

Spread on baking sheet. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast at 400 for 20-25 minutes or till fork tender and starting to brown.

While those are in the oven. Prepare the remaining ingredients.

Dice your onion. Start onions on medium low heat till translucent. A pinch of salt helps this process.

Peel and dice apples. Add to onions.

Slice celery. Grate carrots. Add to onion apple mixture. Continue to cook on medium low heat.

Finely grate ginger. I don’t peel the ginger, but you can if you want. Add to pan.

Press garlic. Add to pan.

Add the broth. Taste to see if you need to add a pinch of salt. Be careful with the salt. Especially if you’re using salted broth. You can always add salt, but you can never take out too much salt.

Add the squash. Cover and simmer till everything is tender.

Zest and juice the orange. Add to squash mixture.

This next step can be done in a blender, food processor or you can use an emersion blender. I like the emersion blend. It’s easier and you don’t have to worry about pouring hot liquids. The clean up is also easier. Blend till soup is smooth and no chunks remain.