Adventures in Butternut Squash

First and foremost please allow Viv to brighten your day, she is taking a break from munching on the vegetable castoffs from my cooking adventure to pose for me.

So, on a whim today I decided to cook butternut squash soup for dinner, not really realizing what I was getting myself into. Side note- S. and I have decided to place a moratorium dining out, and we are going to plan out our meals for the next coming week and buy all of the ingredients at once. It's a rather pathetic attempt at being responsible and frugal, but we're trying our best. We wandered down to the Co-Op and purchased what seemed to be every vegetable under the sun. After coming home and relaxing for a bit, I psyched myself up and started cooking the soup. And I found out that butternut squash is the bitch of the fruit world. Cutting it in half wasn't too hard, but separating the meat from the rind was an incredible pain in my neck, and it took me a good 15 minutes to accomplish. However, it was worth it in the end! It's the tastiest soup I have EVER made- I can seriously discuss its amazingness until the cows come home; but I'll just give you the recipe instead:

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp of olive oil
1 Butternut squash, chopped
1 Stalk of celery, chopped
1 Carrot stick, chopped
1 Yellow onion, chopped
1 Granny smith apple, chopped
3 Vegetable bouillon cubes
3 Cups of water
1 Blender
Nutmeg
Cinnamon

Instructions:

1) Put a large soup pot on the burner and turn to heat on low. Add olive oil and onions, let cook; when onions are clear add carrots and celery.

2) Meanwhile, in a separate soup pot combine water and bouillon and boil until it becomes vegetable broth.

3) After cooking the vegetables for ten minutes add squash, vegetable broth and apple to the soup pot. Bring too a boil, then let simmer until squash is soft (approximately 10 minutes).

4) Once squash is soft, turn off heat and let soup cool for a bit. Then puree the soup until it’s a very fine consistency. Add nutmeg and cinnamon to taste, and enjoy! My favorite flavor ever is squash and nutmeg, it's the perfect mix of savory and sweet. Oh, and that's not actually turmeric.