Soup's On - Smooth Butternut brings warm bellies

Butternut, meet bacon. Bacon, meet Butternut. Now live happily ever after on our tastebuds.

By Peggy & Tom Peterson

Fall weather and the change of the season brings a chill in the air and a change in my kitchen with fall flavors of apples, pumpkin and cinnamon. 

The heat of summer gone and the barbecue extinguished, I turn to long sleeve sweaters and my soup pot filled with favorite recipes and the chance to adventure into some new ones. 

Is there anything more satisfying than coming out of the cold and filling yourself with a blend of vegetables or meat and broth that gets tastier with each following spoonful until you are looking at the bottom of a bowl and a haze invades your brain - an inexplicable sleepy warm bliss like a baby being cradled? Total security can reside in that pot, if just for a short while.  

Some of my favorite memories as a child are of enjoying a grilled cheese with tomato soup and listening to Paul Harvey on the radio with my mom. “Good………………. day.”

So what a great way to reconnect with your mom and ask her the ingredients of one of your favorite soups when you were a kid. You can also tell her you love her. I like to offer a little thanks for passing on family recipes that have now gone to my girls. 

In my youth, I cooked at McMenamins on Murray in Beaverton and learned to make West African Chicken Peanut Soup, French Onion, Beer Potato Cheese. My pallet became a bit more complex. 

But my home base remains in the earthy, root and vegetable-based dishes that have filled my table over the years, made with homemade stock when there is time. My daughters remember visiting Deschutes State Park and jumping in huge piles of leaves. And then returning home to cheesy potato soup with crunchy bacon for garnish. That soup remains my daughters’ favorite as well as mine.

In years past, my father-in-law was an astute grower of butternut squash, and it so happened I needed a gluten-free, vegan recipe for a gymnastics meet. I came upon the following recipe and learned that this vibrant orange soup can please all with some simple side garnishes of bacon, sour cream, cilantro and any pepper spice of your choosing. Made with lime, coconut milk and cumin it has a splendid complexity that will continue to smolder in your mouth if you add a dash of cayenne.  So here is our offering to you and your family in the chill months to follow.

Butternut squash makes its debut in a Thai inspired fusion that begs bacon for a come-a-long.

 Butternut Squash Soup

4 pounds butternut squash peeled and cubed

1 large Granny Smith apple peeled and chopped

1  carrot peeled and chopped

1 jalapeno roughly chopped (seeded for a more mild flavor)

1 small yellow onion chopped

4 cloves garlic minced

1 tablespoon cumin

2 teaspoons salt plus more to taste

¼ teaspoon black pepper

¼ cup lime juice (fresh or bottled)

4 cups of vegetable stock

1 can (14 oz.) coconut milk

Place all ingredients except the coconut milk into the soup pot. Bring to a boil then simmer on medium-low for  45 minutes or until squash is soft. After cooking time is done, stir in coconut milk and blend with an immersion blender directly in the pot, or carefully blend in a stand blender. 

Serve immediately and top with your favorite toppings.

Optional vegan toppings: Cilantro, coconut flakes, coconut cream, and cayenne.

Other optional toppings: Cilantro, sour cream, and bacon bits go great along with your favorite pepper sauce.

1/4 cup lime juice for a little bright pucker.

One Tbsp. Cumin to make that medley merry.

A 14 oz. can of coconut milk gives the soup a smooth finish with the help of a blender.

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