Acorn Squash and Apple Soup

One of my biggest knocks on Austin is the lack of seasons. There's a temperature change, sure- I'm actually sitting in a sweatshirt right now. But there is no beautiful display of jewel colored leaves, no snow days to pull a sled through, and no lush springs with English-style gardens. There is summer, and then there is some cold.

My recent yearning for autumn has led me to do two things:

1. Stay up to ungodly hours due to an intensive home search in Asheville, NC, where fall reigns glorious in the mountains. I even felt it necessary to poke Peyton in the ribs at three a.m. to announce our impending move. I've got some house contenders, so now it's on to finding the mister a job!

2. Make fall soup. I had this delicious soup in Baltimore from a recipe clipping that my mom has had for the past few decades, and decided to recreate it here. It's so simple to make yet has complex flavors and is good for you to boot. So what if we don't have leave piles to jump in or cool air to bundle up in? We have acorn squash soup! And until we pack the moving vans, that will just have to do. 

Here is my version of this super easy recipe, good for anyone looking to add some fall to their kitchen.

Ingredients

1 acorn squash

1 onion

1-2 green (or tart) apples

~1/4 cup margarine

3 cups vegetable broth

cumin

curry powder

nutmeg

salt

pepper

1. Cut squash into quarters or eighths. Scoop out seeds and place face down in 2 cups of broth. Simmer, covered, until soft, roughly 20-30 minutes. (I cooked it and left it for a few hours longer, so it was super soft. Was just as yummy!)

2. Slice onion and apple and saute in margarine until browned and aromatic and delicious looking, roughly 10 minutes. 

This is at the beginning, not the final browned stage.

3. Scoop the squash from the skin into blender and blend well with the broth. Return to pot.

4. Blend the apple and onion mixture with remaining 1 cup of broth, then combine in pot with squash. 

5. Add spices, salt, and pepper to taste. (I used more cumin, salt, and pepper with just a touch of the nutmeg and curry. You can switch it up as you feel, or use other spices all together.)

And you're done! We topped our with cashews add a bit of salty crunch. I think that some sweet chutney or coconut flakes would also be interesting, or a nice cranberry sauce swirled in to make it even more fall festive. 

Enjoy!

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