Feel warm and full this fall with this lovely soup.

Ingredients: (everything will be blended so no need to chop small)

1 medium butternut squash roasted (Best to prep ahead of time)

1 onion diced into large chunks

3 cloves garlic chopped

3 carrots peeled and sliced (use your peelings for garnishing if they’re organic!)

3 stalks celery chopped

1 apple roughly chopped

4 cups vegetable broth (I use Rapunzel cubes)

Oil or butter for sauteing

Directions:

In large soup pot, add oil or butter to pan and cook onions until soft. Add garlic, carrots, celery, squash, apple, herbs, spices, broth. You can then do one of the options A or B.

1. At this point you can everything into a blender (I use a Vitamix for a 30 sec- 1 minute) and it’s done. I then heat it on the stove when it’s ready to serve.
2. If your blender has trouble, and you would like a smooth consistency, you can bring soup to boil, then bring down to simmer until everything is very soft, (about 20-30 min) then it should blend smooth.

Tips:

Nutrition:

The shorter the time and lower heat you cook any vegetable, the more nutrients you will be consuming. This is the reason I use powerful blender like the VItamix for my soups instead of cooking and boiling them.

Preparing squash:

Half butternut squash. Take caution! Squash can be really difficult to cut because their skin and flesh are so hard. My trick is to cut off a bit of the the top and bottom with a large sharp chef’s knife to make two flat surfaces. Then I set it upright, take that knife and work it down the middle. If the squash is too big, sometimes I’ll first cut the squash into 2 or three sections then cut down the middle of each section. (I once had to use a hand saw and the assistance of a brace for a squash because it was so large; I hope you do not have to do this!). Scrape out seeds. Place 2 halves face down on parchment paper on pan. Roast in oven on 350 for 45 minutes or until soft (This might vary depending on size of your squash). When it’s done use a paring knife to remove peeling.

Optional ingredients:

Herbs- Sage, thyme, and rosemary are great to use; explore!

Spices- You can add chili powder, cumin, or chili flakes if you like spice.

Vegetables- I have added sweet potatoes, pumpkin, other squash, leeks and more; be creative; make it suit your tastes.

Garnishes- Try garnishing with fermented foods, yogurt, fresh herbs, apple peels, dulse flakes, or edible flowers.