Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

Butternut squash, curry powder, and apples are a classic combination and this soup is perfect for a chilly fall day! I thought it paired nicely with grilled cheese.

An added bonus when making this recipe is that I got to use my new food mill! I thought sure this would be one of those kitchen purchases that would only see the light of day once a year to make apple butter, so I was super excited to find a use for it so soon. Don't have a food mill? Not to worry, you can use a food processor, an immersion blender, probably even a potato masher. You're not looking for a velvety smooth texture with this soup.

It's so delicious, even Forest wanted a taste.

But a moment later he became extremely interested in a deer who was foraging in the backyard. Lots of deer and wild turkeys up here.

And let's not forget the cat, Lucky. He's older than dirt but still wants nothing more than to snuggle with you all day long.

CSA Week 24:

In the box: One bunch radishes, one bunch carrots, one head celery, one head cauliflower, 3/4 pound broccoli, 1 pound Sweet Girl tomatoes, 1 Delicata squash, 3 heads garlic, 1 basket strawberries, 2 pounds Jonagold apples

Same story as last week: still house/pet-sitting (see adorable animals above), so we split up the box again.

One night for dinner I cooked up some pasta and tossed it with a jar of my roasted summer tomatoes. I found a bag of fully-cooked, frozen meatballs in the freezer at the house where I'm staying, so I baked a few of those to go on top for protein. They were not good at all, but at least the pasta and sauce were delicious. I roasted the broccoli to go alongside, one of my favorite ways to eat broccoli. If I were smart I would have roasted the tomatoes we got this week for the sauce, because when I stopped in at home on my lunch break a few days later I noticed that they had gone bad. Darn! They must have been really ripe when we received them.Too bad I wasn't home to notice it.

I used some of the celery to make Yumm! Tuna Salad, which I ate two ways: on top of a big bed of salad greens, and on top of a toasted English muffin with cheese. I sliced a few stalks into short sticks for dipping in hummus as a snack. I gave the rest to Joe and hinted that maybe he could make a batch of beef stock this week.

Joe also got the cauliflower, delicata squash, and the carrots. He said he peeled and sliced the squash and then sauteed it in a pan with some oil until tender, and had it with rice. Apparently that the basic recipe from How to Cook Everything and there are a ton of variations. He says he's going use the cauliflower to make the Test Kitchen curried skillet cauliflower we made a few weeks ago. I haven't heard anything about the carrots.

Local strawberries in fall, whaaat? I was very surprised. Aside from being a little white in the middle, they were actually pretty sweet! They made a tasty snack just as they were.

I roasted the radishes in the oven while I baked a Cousin Jack's Pasty. They needed a little more time to cook than the pasty did though, and eventually I got impatient and took them out, even though they could have gone longer. I washed and chopped the radish greens and steamed them in the microwave for a couple of minutes, then tossed with salt and olive oil (no pepper because they are already pretty peppery).

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup
adapted from Ina Garten
makes 3 1/2 quarts

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups chopped yellow onions (3 large)
2 tablespoons mild curry powder
5 pounds butternut squash (2 large)
1 1/2 pounds sweet apples, such as McIntosh or Jonagold (about 4)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups water
2 cups good apple cider or juice (not from concentrate, no sugar added)

Add the butter, oil, onions, and curry powder to a large stockpot. Cook over low heat, uncovered, for about 15 minutes, until the onions are tender, Stir occasionally, scraping the bottom of the pot as you do.

Meanwhile, peel and seed the squash. Cut into chunks (I cut mine into approx. 2 inch pieces). Peel and core the apples, then cut them into chunks of similar size.

Add the squash, apples, salt, pepper, and 2 cups of water to the pot. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat for 30-40 minutes, until the squash and apples are very soft. Process the soup through a food mill fitted with a large blade (or other method producing similar results, such as a potato masher, a few pulses in a food processor, or immersion blender).

Return the soup back to the pot. Add the apple cider or juice and enough water to make the soup the consistency you like; it should be slightly sweet and quite thick. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Serve hot.