Recipe: Smooth Spiced Butternut Squash And Apple Soup

Sweet, spicy, and tangy, this creamy and delicious soup combines the best of fall into a smooth and rich tasting soup. Most of the ingredients should be easy to find at your local farmer's market or in your CSA share this time of year. Using butternut squash gives the soup a creamy richness even without using any cream, so if you're looking to cut some fat and calories, this simple autumn soup fits the bill and still satisfies!

Smooth Spiced Butternut Squash And Apple Soup
(Serves 4-6.)

Ingredients:

Butternut Squash Soup (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

2 large butternut squash
2 sweet ripe apples
3 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp basil
2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 Tbsp Turkish or Spanish saffron (safflower blossoms)
1/4 tsp allspice
pinch ground cloves
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper

Directions:

• Wash the whole squash, then cut it in half, then into chunks, removing any seeds or string first; bring a big pot of water to a boil, drop in the squash and let cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until fork tender.
• Meanwhile, peel the apples, core, chop, and put in a glass bowl (without water) and microwave for 3 to 5 minutes or until you can mash them with a fork. You can also just put the chopped up apple in a small saucepan over low heat and cook until soft, just watching it so it doesn't burn to the bottom.
• Remove the squash from the cooking water, let cool slightly, and scrape the edible portions from the outer rind, putting the good part in a bowl. Save the cooking water in the pot.
• Put the squash in your food processor and blend until smooth; then add smashed apples and process until both are pureed and smooth.
• Put the squash-applesauce puree into another soup pot and add enough of the reserved cooking water to make a thick soup. You can always add a bit more as you cook the soup to thin it out more.
• Add the seasonings to the soup, stirring to combine.
• Turn burner on to low under your soup pot, slightly tip a lip on the pot, and simmer slowly for about 5 to 10 minutes, just so the flavors combine.  Add more of the cooking liquid from the other pot if desired.
• Serve warm.

Healthy Homemade Soups on the Go

In this day and age it can be hard to eat healthy. With your busy schedule, especially if you have children, many people find it easier to grab whatever is available and the quickest and deal with the health consequences later. With the following tips for soups on the go you’ll learn how to make sure that the food you grab is of the healthy variety.

The problem with dealing with the consequences of unhealthy eating habits is that later is actually closer than you might think. Later is right now. Sadly, we are a nation of obese adults and just as many, if not more, obese children. Our unhealthy eating choices have caught up with us. You might be asking yourself, “How can I eat healthy when I’m crunched for time already?”

Image via WikipediaOne way is to make foods that can be taken with you on the go. One of those foods is soup. Soup is tasty, filling, and good for you anytime, but especially on a cold fall or winter day. There are hot soups and believe it or not even cold soups. Many of the warm soups are even good eaten cold or lukewarm.

First, choose your favorite soup. A popular choice of many is the infamous chicken noodle soup. There’s nothing better when you are under the weather than the warm chicken broth soothing your throat. Campbell’s has a wonderful soup in a microwave container perfect for eating on the go, but we are going to make our own soup for an even healthier choice.

The one thing that is best about homemade food is that you know what is and is not in it. Since we are concerned with health, preparing your own soup creations at home is the best way to go. No matter which type of soup you choose to make, be sure to use fresh ingredients. The other items you’ll need are plenty of cups with lids and a blender.

Image via Wikipedia
 Now it’s time to actually create your time saving soup. A good soup always starts with the stock. For chicken soup, make the broth by boiling the remains of the chicken you had for dinner. Add the herbs and seasonings of your choice and boil until the chicken bones come out clean. Any remaining meat will be included in the broth. Once the broth cools completely, ladle it into air-tight jars or containers for storing.

If you’re more of a beef and vegetable soup lover, you can use commercial canned broths or bouillon cubes for the base of your soup (but keep an eye on the sodium if this is an issue for you). Season the stock really well and boil before adding any other ingredients. Once the stock is ready, all that is left to do is toss in your favorite veggies. Again, wait until the soup is completely cooled before pouring into storage or serving containers.

Now, what about that blender? It’s a bit difficult to eat soup the traditional way while driving and if you are serving to your kids, the combination of a car and soup in a bowl is a disaster waiting to happen. Here’s where the blender comes into the picture.

Pour some of the soup into the blender and blend until the pieces are small enough for you to swallow easily. You can even puree the soup completely if you’d prefer. For a thicker texture, add a bit of cream soup.

Now your soup is ready for distributing in your to-go cups. The ideal cup would be a coffee mug with a lid. These types of cups have a wide opening perfect for drinking soups from. Be sure to prepare enough soup for the entire week. You can take the soup with you while you’re out shopping, working in the garden or to work. A cup of soup is packed with healthy nutrients and it won’t mess up the car or cramp your busy lifestyle. The next time you don’t have time to eat, reach for a cup of healthy homemade soup instead of pulling into that fast food drive thru.

And check back soon for some yummy fall and winter soup recipes - we'll be posting some here later this month!

 

Related articles on Soups:

• Vegetarian Bean Soup and Butternut Soup with Cream (suite101.com)
• Use homemade broth for pilaf, chicken soup, chicken and noodles: Cleveland Cooks (video) (cleveland.com)
• Laksa to Locro: Spicy Soups from Around the World (thekitchn.com)