Soup Glorious Soup!

It snowed today for six hours so I decided it was a great day to stay inside and make my favorite soup--Butternut Squash Soup. I like this recipe because it is not bland like so many of the squash soups. It has some wonderful flavors from the cumin (I think it smells like sweaty men's armpits! but I love the flavor), coriander and red pepper (cayenne) which gives it a kick. So, if you need a warm and delicious soup, this is how it is made.

Peel 1 Butternut squash.

It looks like this inside when cut open. One end is solid and the other is hollow except for seeds and fibers.

Scrape out the seeds and fibers leaving just the shell of squash.

Cube the squash.

Dice one onion. Melt 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter in large pan. Add onion and cook until it begins to soften, about 6 minutes. Add squash and cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to soften, about 15 minutes.

Peel, core and dice 4 red or golden apples. The easiest way to do this is with this Apple Peeler/Corer/Slicer. Place apple level into the prongs and turn handle. It peels, slices and cores all while you turn the handle. It makes speedy work of this job. Then just make four cuts through the finished apple to make diced apples.

Add apples to pan.

Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1 1/2 t. ground cumin, 1/2 t. ground coriander, 1/2 t. ground ginger, 1/4 t. cayenne pepper and 1/4 t. ground pepper. Next add 2 cups canned chicken stoock and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer, and cook until vegetables are very soft, about 30 minutes.

Puree in batches in a food processor or use an immersion blender like this one,right in the pan. I leave some lumps so it doesn't seem like baby food. Thin with additional water if necessary, although I like mine thick. Serve hot with garnish of your choice.

Enjoy!