No Soup For You

With Old Man Winter stubbornly holding us in his bitter grip, we've been eating a lot of warm-me up meals... stews, soups, and the like.  Especially soups.  My boys DETEST potatoes not cooked in a french fry form - we eat a lot of oven fries.  In spite of this aversion, they will eat a bowl of creamy potato soup (we call it vegetable soup) and ask for seconds.  This is big stuff in the battle of the mealtime, although Kaleb might be cluing in - the last time I made it did not go over nearly as well..  (NOTE:  The following sentence may kill your appetite.  Kaleb has actually vomited his mashed potatoes on the dinner table - I think it's a texture thing - definitely disgusting.)  Growing up, soup was always Chicken Noodle or Dutch Meatball.  Both delicious, but well, predictable.  My mom would, on occasion, make a batch of split pea... blech, no thanks!

A friend from In R Dream posted a photo on instagram the other day of a coconut squash soup she made, recipe from The Naked Label.  I couldn't find the exact recipe (most likely because I don't own the Get Naked In The Kitchen cookbook.)  I have, however, made butternut squash soup in the past.  And the craving for a yummy creamy soup just would not go away.  I picked up my squash at the grocery store yesterday and now have this just-for-me soup simmering on the stove.  My house smells delicious.  My stomach will not stop growling. I might share a bowl with Kevin if he's nice.

If you're anything like me soup and stew recipes change every time you make them.  Use what you have on hand, cross your fingers & hope for the best.  Here is my recipe for Curry Coconut Squash soup, the way I made it this time around. 

Curry Coconut Squash Soup

Ingredients:  
1 tbsp. butter
1 onion
2 jalapeños
1 large butternut squash
3-4 tbsp curry spices (to taste)
1 tbsp. cinnamon honey butter (or honey, and cinnamon)
1/3 cup - 1/2 cup apple juice
4 cups chicken broth (reduce for a thicker soup)
1 can coconut milk

Directions:
Chop up that onion and those jalapeños while melting your butter (or oil) in a soup pot.  Sauté until tender, sprinkle with curry spices (I used Epicure Mango Curry Dip).   Peel & seed your squash, cut into cubes.  Add apple sauce to pan and scrape up any bits from the bottom.  Add your remaining ingredients.  I would like to point out that most recipes use honey...not honey butter... I'm aware of this, I just grabbed the wrong jar and it was too late to go back.  It works.    Stir everything together and bring to a boil.  Reduce hit, cover, and simmer on low 25 minutes or so - until your butternut squash is tender.  Your broth itself will taste delicious at this point... if it doesn't, add your favourite seasoning.  If you want to bring this soup all together, you'll need to purée in small batches with a blender or food processor.  Be careful, heat tends to make the lid blow off your blender.  Big mess.  I speak from experience.  If you find your soup too thick, add more liquid - milk, cream, chicken broth.  Once puréed to desired texture & consistency, dish up and enjoy!  This will warm you from the inside and leave Old Man Winter out in the cold.  If you're feeling selfish, keep it that pot to yourself and repeat the Seinfeld line with conviction:  "No Soup For You."

EDIT:  After I pureed this beautiful, delicious soup, I found it slightly runny.  I didn't use a very large squash and probably added wee bit too much broth.  It's still tasty though!


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