fall soup

After dinner last night, Stella said, "I'm sorry, Mom. I wish I liked it." You win some, you lose some, you know? She was referring to the soup I had just served, which she and the boys did not enjoy. But because Mabel, Mike and I liked it, I thought the recipe was worth sharing here.

This soup is fairly involved, so make it on a day when you have some time on your hands. Also, if your children are at all like mine, make sure to serve it with lots of warm bread or leftover macaroni and cheese to avoid hungry bedtime tummies.

Butternut Squash and Corn Soup

Heat your oven to 375 degrees and split a large butternut squash in half, lengthwise. Scrape out the seeds and stringy bits. Place the squash, cut side up, in a 9x13 inch pan. Score the top like a tic-tac-toe board and sprinkle each half with 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt and half of a tablespoon of honey. Honestly, I think you could skip the honey, if you are avoiding added sugar. Roast the squash for an hour and a half, or until it is nice and tender. You could baste it with the juices a few times while it is cooking, if you think about it.

Meanwhile, in a large pot over medium heat, cook 3 chopped onions and the peeled cloves from one garlic head (I know, that's a lot of garlic!) in one stick of butter. Stir from time to time, but cook until nice and golden, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Add 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh sage leaves and about 5 medium carrots, chopped. Stir and cook for five more minutes.

Once the squash is tender, scrape out the flesh and add it to the onion mixture with 6 cups of chicken broth. Cover your pot and bring it to a boil over high heat. Then reduce the heat to a simmer until the carrots are very soft, about 30 minutes.

Use and immersion blender to puree the soup until it is nice and smooth. Add a teaspoon (or more) of kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg. Then stir in 3 cups of corn. (I used frozen, but you could also cut the kernels off a few cobs. Just don't use canned, whatever you do.) Once the corn has warmed up, serve the soup with a little dollop of sour cream.

And then try really hard not to be frustrated that after all of that effort, some of your kids won't eat it. Ha! Just more for us, I guess.


So, it's probably still too warm here for soup, but I can't help it. It's all I want to make for dinner. Do you have a favorite recipe to share?