Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup is elegant, hearty and a healthy vegetarian soup. It's an economical soup that freezes well. Roasting squash and apples adds a depth of flavor and brings out their natural sweetness. The soup is elegant enough for a dinner party as a soup course, served in mini soup bowls for your next tapa party or as a main course with artisan bread and a fruit salad.  

Cook's Notes:  A time saver is buying pre-cut butternut squash cubes. For this recipe I worked on streamlining the multiple steps by roasting most of the ingredients ahead which also added more flavor to the soup.  
Ingredients: 

• 3 cups small cubed butternut squash
• 1 large Granny Smith apple, diced 
• 3/4 cup each diced carrots and onions
• 3 garlic cloves, minced  
• 1 TB. olive oil
• 1/4 tsp. each curry, ground ginger, thyme 
• 1/2 tsp. each Saigon cinnamon and celery seeds
• 5 cups chicken broth (low salt, low sodium)  
• 1 TB. brown sugar or honey
• 1/3 cup half and half
• Garnish roasted pumpkin seeds, bacon bits or pinch of nutmeg

Directions:

• Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone pad.
• Mix spices and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• In a large bowl add chopped butternut squash, diced apples, carrots and onions,
• Drizzle with olive oil and toss to combine. 

• Spread mixture evenly on baking sheet. Sprinkle with spices. Roast for 15 minutes. Stir and cook 8 minutes longer. 
• Add roasted mixture to soup pot, pour in chicken broth and add in brown sugar or honey. 
• On low heat bring soup to a boil. Cook 30 minutes. Use an immersion blender, food processor or blender and puree ingredients 1 cup at a time.  
• Add pureed mixture back to soup pot, adding in half and half and cook 15 minutes longer but do let boil.
•  Garnish with pumpkin seeds or bacon bits. 

___________________________________________________

One of my favorite school poems-

Sick

By Shel Silverstein

“I cannot go to school today,"
Said little Peggy Ann McKay.
“I have the measles and the mumps,
A gash, a rash and purple bumps.
My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,
I’m going blind in my right eye.
My tonsils are as big as rocks,
I’ve counted sixteen chicken pox
And there’s one more--that’s seventeen,
And don’t you think my face looks green?
My leg is cut--my eyes are blue--
It might be instamatic flu.
I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,
I’m sure that my left leg is broke--
My hip hurts when I move my chin,
My belly button’s caving in,
My back is wrenched, my ankle’s sprained,
My ‘pendix pains each time it rains.
My nose is cold, my toes are numb.
I have a sliver in my thumb.
My neck is stiff, my voice is weak,
I hardly whisper when I speak.
My tongue is filling up my mouth,
I think my hair is falling out.
My elbow’s bent, my spine ain’t straight,
My temperature is one-o-eight.
My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear,
There is a hole inside my ear.
I have a hangnail, and my heart is--what?
What’s that? What’s that you say?
You say today is. . .Saturday?
G’bye, I’m going out to play!”

I miss the excitement and anticipation the First Day of School brings :)