Butternut squash and pepper soup!

Blurry; my bad.

I just settled from preparing and consuming my delectable soup and knew in the process of cooking I had to blog about it. I love butternut squash! That and acorn squash, which tastes nearly identical, are my favorite squashes and it's one of those veggies I always wonder as to why we don't have it on hand throughout the winter. We get it a handful of times, but it should really be a winter staple in our kitchen.

So I saw the gigantic squash below in Trader Joe's the other day, and I immediately deemed it worthy of a warm soup for the brrrrr nights we're finally having! And, yes, let's get this out of the way. The squash I chose is uncomfortably phallic in shape, but it was the most for the price. I felt uneasy the entire time cooking it until it was blended into the soup, so it is what it is. :-/ Moving on...

Ingredients:
1 medium to large butternut squash (the larger the better..."that's what she said")
2 Tbs olive oil
Salt, pepper
1/2 a small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic minced
4 cups veggie broth
1-2 Bay leaves (optional)
1 cup frozen or fresh sliced pepper (any color)
1/2 cup coconut milk creamer (or your own favorite soy/coconut milk)

First, preheat the over to 400 degrees. Slice the squash length wise; be careful, the squash is really tough when uncooked. Keep the skin on and lightly oil the flesh side and sprinkle salt and pepper all over. Do this for each of the two halves of squash. Lay flesh side down on an ungreased cookie sheet (skin side up) and roast in the oven for 45 minutes. When it's done cooking, keep the squash on the pan to cool a bit.

At this point, heat the rest of the oil in a large, soup pot and add the onions and garlic on medium-low. Once the onions are translucent and the kitchen smells decently of garlic and onion, add about 1 cup of broth to pan. Now you're ready to peel the skin off of the squash. You should be able to peel it off with your hands (as long as it's cool enough) while the squash is on the pan. You may need only a teensy bit of help from a butter knife or fork. Once the squash is peeled, you can break it into chunks with a knife in order to make it easier to transfer to the pot. Once the squash is transferred, add the rest of the veggie broth and peppers. Add salt, pepper, and two bay leaves if you have them around. They're not required though. Put the lid on the pot and let the soup simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Once you've let the flavors marry, take off the lid and mix everything with a wooden spoon. Retrieve the bay leaves if you put them in and throw away. The squash should be breaking or already broken down into the soup. Get your immersion blender out at now (or transfer to a blender, but I find that very tedious and messy). Blend until smooth. Now add the coconut creamer to thin the soup a bit and add a creaminess. Blend for 15-30 seconds more until the creamer is completely blended into the soup.

If you think there's anything else to be done, you be wrong! Your soup is ready! I loved this soup for its simplicity and rustic quality. Out of habit, I was searching our herbs and spices cabinet for more seasoning but realized there was no need. This soup allows the squash and the peppers to shine together, and it really was a perfect, easy soup for this December dinner.

This is what my husband does when he's waiting for the soup to cool. Make a cracker fort, what else?