Sun and Soup

The dropping temps and crisp air are getting me excited for two things: soup and Thanksgiving.

Yes, I recognize that these are both technically food-related.  However, this year, I am particularly excited about Thanksgiving because we will be spending it in Florida with family.  This means I will be lovingly surrounded by some of my favorite S-words (not swords, as Sean Connery might say): sun, sand, sustenance. 

"Sustenance" for me is both physical and emotional.  Delicious food and being taken care of.  It's amazing how that can be so important as an adult. Sometimes all you need is for someone else to make decisions. And I, for one, am looking forward to going with the flow as one of the chitlin, so long as there is some beach time in there.

My love for the beach is a bit odd considering my genetic makeup. I'm pretty sure very few of my ancestors ever saw the sun on a regular basis. My body was built to withstand hard Scandinavian winters and Baltic farming duties. And yet there are few things that bring me more joy than playing in/around water and in full sunlight.  Despite my pale as all get out alabaster complexion, I actually don't burn that badly...mostly I turn into one big giant freckle and must avoid too much time sans SPF due to relatively predictable rashes of sunpoisoning. And yet, all I ever want is sunshine. Given the stress and uncertainty of the last few weeks, I can't even begin to tell you how much I am looking forward to this trip. I am actually day dreaming of beaches and flip flops as we speak.  But I am also at work, so I would be better suited to get back to the present and try to actually earn my keep.

Which brings me to another welcome S-word: soup.  This time of year, soups are perfect one-pot meals to feed a lot or a little and freeze the leftovers. Plus they're (usually) easy to make and (often) oober healthy. I've made a couple of nice ones so far (the marvelous M was especially fond of my recent potato-leek experiment), and today I'll share one that I think is filling and fun (or, at least as fun as flavors can get).

Butternut Ginger Soup

Makes about 8 servings.

4 Points+ per serving.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium butternut squash
• 1 small onion
• 2 carrots
• 1-2 stalks celery (optional)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• a 2-inch piece of raw ginger (yes, I actually mean that much)
• 3 cloves garlic
• crushed red pepper flakes
• 6 cups +/- water or stock (veggie or chicken would work best; I used chicken bouillon) 

Directions:

• Peel the squash with a very sharp vegetable peeler or with a paring knife. Discard seeds and cut into 1.5-2 inch chunks. Be warned: the skin of the squash is extremely drying, and will dry out your skin something fierce if you don't scrub real well after peeling/chopping. No joke, it's uncomfortable.  Thanks to the illustrious N for this tip!
• Melt the butter in a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion, carrots and celery and cook until onions are translucent.
• Add finely chopped garlic, salt and pepper and saute another minute or two.
• Add water/stock and squash chunks. Season generously with salt, black pepper and crushed red pepper flakes (a few good shakes, the ginger is spicy too).  
• Grate fresh ginger with microplane/other finer-toothed kitchen implement directly into pot.  Yes, it seems like a lot of ginger.  You'll just have to trust me.
• Bring to a boil. Once boil is rolling, cover and turn heat down a bit to simmer for 20 minutes for so, until squash chunks are tender. Once tender (e.g., once you can easily squish the chunks with the back of a spoon on the side of the pot), turn off the heat.  
• If you have a fancy-pants immersion blender, now's the time to bust it out. If not, use a large coffee cup to ladle a few mugfuls into a blender. Cover and puree for about a minute, or until it's as smooth as you like. Important Note! the heat from the soup will want to expand in the blender and blow the top off, so make sure you are holding it down tight with an hot pad or towel before hitting that puree button.  
• Pour pureed soup into a separate pot while you repeat that last step with the remainder of the soup (or if you have a fancy-pants immersion blender, don't worry about it).  Return the whole thing to the original pot on the stove to reheat and check seasoning.  Fun fact: if you're looking for a bit of extra creaminess, add a dollop of sour cream before serving. 

Any other treasured soup recipes you'd like to share? I'd love to hear them!