Butternut Squash Soup

 
Today we woke up to rain for the first time in well over a week!  It felt a little sad to see our stretch of beautiful fall weather go away and a foggy, damp, typical October day set in!

I was feeling a bit like crawling under a big cozy blanket with Syd on the couch and staying there for the day, but instead decided to whip up a batch of butternut squash soup.  This comforting, creamy soup is not only delicious, but so healthy and chock full of veggies!  The worst part about this recipe is all of the chopping and peeling, especially the butternut squash, so I cheated and bought a package of pre-cut squash from Costco.  It was the best $5 I ever spent!  The soup took me literally ten minutes to get together and while it was cooking I managed to get a cake baked and the kitchen cleaned up.  Ah efficiency, how I do love thee!

Midday the rain stopped and the clouds parted and the sun came back!  It was amazing!  Sydney and I happened to be sitting in the window seat in her bedroom during the few minutes that this happened and minutes after the sun came out our backyard was literally filled with different birds, five different kinds in total!  Blue Jays and Chickadees and some I had never seen before in my life!  It was one of those magical moments like out of a fairy tale!  We watched the birds forage for quite some time, Sydney was thrilled to see them all, her delighted screeching eventually scared them all away!!

It was a lovely low-key day with my girl home from preschool for Simchat Torah, the Jewish holiday that marks the end of the torah readings for one year and beginning of the new cycle.  We are looking forward to this weekend, we have parties three days in a row!  Two of Sydney's friends are having birthday parties this weekend and we also have a Halloween party to go to!  It is a fun, fun time of year around here!

Here's the recipe for the Butternut Squash Soup if you want to give it a try:

Butternut Squash Soup

3 cups (about two pounds) butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed and chopped
1 1/4 cups green apple, peeled, cored and chopped (about two small apples)
1 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 bay leaf
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Parsley for garnish

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer.  Simmer until squash is tender, about 25 minutes.  Remove bay leaf and discard.  Puree mixture in a blender until smooth, working in batches and filling the blender no more than half full each time as the hot liquid expands rapidly!  Garnish with chopped parsley.

Enjoy!