Vegan Squash Soup

I'm so excited! At long last I'm putting up the recipes that all my friends have been asking for! This will hopefully be the first post of many, and I hope you enjoy cooking and eating these things as much as me...

Sooo, I will start with a squash soup that I made for my birthday dinner a few weeks ago. It was creamy (without any dairy or dairy substitute) with subtle spices and just totally yummy! At dinner that night, we were talking about bacon (which I personally used to love the taste of and is one of the few things i still miss now that i am a vegetarian) and someone made the comment that you can almost taste bacon in the soup! Wishful thinking on his part, maybe, but a nice plus for those of you cooking for meat eaters who hate the word "vegan." :)

Some notes:
I used the squash I had in the house, which happened to be acorn and butternut squashes. I used 2 butternut and 3 acorn squashes from my boyfriends parents garden (more on that wonderland later!). I'd never used acorn squash before, but they blended nicely with the butternut. I think acorn squash have a slighty nutty flavor, which was delicious in this recipe. For much of my cooking (NOT baking!), I tend to look through my cookbooks and go online, find a bunch of recipes, and then mash them together to suit my needs. I also tend to just eyeball it with vegetables and depending on the recipe, the spices too. DON'T do this with baking, though! Baking really is a precise thing, and you'll screw everything up if you don't follow the recipe! So have fun and make this recipe yours!

PS- Next up, the delicious cornbread (vegan & gluten-free) that is in the photo next to the soup! coming soon...

Vegan Squash Soup
Ingredients:
3 medium butternut squash, halved and seeded (or 5 or 6 acorn squash, halved, seed removed. or any squash combination: 2 acorn squash = 1 butternut squash)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 1/2 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and chopped
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon allspice
6 cups water or vegetable broth
2-3 tablespoons maple syrup or agave (optional)
for garnish:
parsley leaves
3/4 cup toasted squash seeds (*see note below for toasting directions)

Preheat oven 400ºF.
On a baking sheet, roast the squash, cut side down, until soft, about 45 minutes. Scoop out the squash flesh and set aside.

In a heavy soup pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Saute the carrot, apple, celery and onion until soft. Season with ginger and allspice. Add the squash and the vegetable broth and salt. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

Transfer the soup to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. This may have to be done in batches. Return the soup to the pot and reheat gently. Taste and adjust the seasonings. If you want a sweeter tasting soup, you can add 2 or 3 tablespoons of maple syrup or agave. Garnish with the parsley leaves and toasted squash seeds and serve at once.

Makes 6 - 8 servings.

*Toasting the squash seeds:
Preheat oven to 300ºF.
This month I learned an easy way to remove the seeds from the pulp after you have seeded your squash. Remove much of the pulp by hand. Put the seeds and what remains of the pulp in a big bowl. Fill with water. The seeds will float to the top. You may have to help the process along by squishing the pulp between your hands in the water. Remove the seeds from the water with a slotted spoon. Pat the seeds dry with a towel (preferrably a cloth one, not paper). In a bowl, mix 2 teaspoons of olive oil and a pinch of sea salt, making sure the seeds are pretty evenly covered and spread them out on a cookie sheet. Bake about 20 minutes or until the seeds start to pop. If you want more toasty seeds, leave them in longer, just make sure you don't forget about them!