Last year I signed up for the free local box from Greenling.  I was super excited to receive a giant bin of beautiful, fresh fall vegetables at my doorstep when I returned home from work.  I vowed to make all four recipes that came with the contents of the box.

My favorite recipe was the Butternut Squash Pumpkin soup.  The first time I made it, I brought some for my coworker to try.  She told me it tasted like sunshine, so I decided to call it Sunshine Soup.  I wanted to make a big batch this week so I can enjoy some now and freeze some for later.  If you are interested in a pictorial of soup made my an extremely talented and skilled chef, then you may need to find another blog.  If you would like to see a clueless 20-something sloppily make some soup, then please read on!

I doubled this recipe today, so I will provide the actual measurements from the recipe.  I don’t know why I ever think it is a good idea to double a recipe.  Logically, it seems like a great way to make more.  I don’t understand why it doesn’t always work out that way.  Either way, this soup is delicious and it hard to mess up.  However, preparing this soup does take a bit of work.  It could also be because I haven’t invested in a good set of knives and the ones I currently have are all pretty dull.  ANYHOO, this is how I make Sunshine Soup!

Sunshine Soup

1 Butternut Squash

2 Mini Pumpkins

1 Cup Leeks

2 Small Cloves Garlic

1/4 Cup Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

5-6 Cups Vegetable Broth

2 Teaspoons Brown Sugar

A Few Pinches of Freshly Grated Nutmeg

1/4-1/2 Cup Cream

• Preheat your oven to 375
• Cut your butternut squash and pumpkins into 2 inch cubes.  Remove the seeds and “fibrous bits” (lol).
  • Now, I really struggled to find mini pumpkins in November.  Apparently, Fall is over once Halloween is over and the gourd selection becomes limited.  I have made this soup with canned pumpkin.  It is not the same.  I decided to use a pie pumpkin much to the Whole Foods cashier’s chagrin.  I explained that I will use it in the soup anyway and she looked at me like a three-headed monster.
  • Is there any rhyme or reason to the technique of cutting up a butternut squash?  Probably, but I have not figured it out.  I chopped away at these bad boys for an hour.

 

• Chop the white parts of the leeks and peel the whole cloves of garlic
  • I never actually know where the “white part” of the leeks technically start, so I chop off anything that looks to be categorized as the “leafy part” and I use what’s left.
  • Want to know the trick to peeling garlic without having your hands smell like it for days?  Me too.

• Arrange the butternut squash, pumpkin, leeks, and garlic on a baking tray. 
  • I lined my baking pans with foil and sprayed them with non-stick cooking spray because I hate cleaning.  (spoiler alert: I still had a lot to clean)

• Season with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Place in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes.
  • I don’t own anything like an olive oil spritzer, a functional salt shaker, or an industrial strength pepper grinder.  I poured the olive oil on and hoped that it would somehow disperse during the baking process.
  • I gave up on using this dinky pepper grinder and grabbed the black pepper from my spice rack.  I quickly realized I was pouring on OREGANO and thought it might be a good idea to actually use pepper.  Luckily, it was not enough oregano to make a difference.

• Once the squash is fork tender, remove and let cool
  • A FAIR WARNING: Do NOT put your face down by the oven when you open it to smell it because it will be tempting.  Steam will come out to destroy your face.  I am SO lucky that I still have eyelashes today.
  • It will smell wonderful.  Do not eat it all before it cools.

• Once everything has cooled, use a spoon to scrape away the squash and pumpkin from the rind.  Place the squash, pumpkin, leeks, and garlic into a medium sized pot.
  • You will eat a lot during this process
  • The pumpkin will come right off the rind, but the squash leaves some gunk behind for you to eat

 

• Warm up 3 cups of vegetable broth in a saucepan.

• Season with freshly grated nutmeg
  • I am not sure what “freshly grated nutmeg” is, so I used Walmart ground nutmeg from a plastic jar

• Use an immersion blender to mix ingredients together.  Keep adding broth until you reach your desired consistency.

• Add more salt, pepper, and nutmeg and season to your liking.  Add 2 teaspoons of brown sugar and cream.  Let simmer for 30 minutes.
  • Luckily, I did not add oregano this time
  • I used fat free milk instead of cream.  Of course cream would have been better.

• Serve in your bowl or mug of choice and enjoy by the fire!
  • I paired mine with an Asiago Sourdough and Applewood Smoked Cheddar grilled cheese sandwich.  Oh.  Em.  Gee.

 

Bon Appétit!

Thanks for stopping by!  See y’all next time…

Marissa