(Copycat) Autumn Squash Soup

Yes, it's that time of year. Autumn.

Time for football, leaves falling and SOUP. Glorious, warm, comforting soup.

I'll be honest, I tried the Autumn Squash Soup at Panera Bread and fell in love. It's a perfect marriage of flavors and texture and, frankly, it's heaven on a spoon. Thus began my quest to recreate the recipe.

So, that's what I did. 

And...my oh my...it was delicious! I still have some tweaking to do but I think it's pretty much right on the money. Easy to make and really very inexpensive. 

Of course, what's a recipe if not shared?

Here you go:

Autumn Squash Soup

1 Butternut Squash, peeled, seeded and diced

2 TBSP butter, melted

2 apples, peeled, cored and diced (I used Gala, use your favorite)

4 carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 clove of garlic, diced

1 onion, diced

1 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or Coconut Oil)

1 15oz can of pure pumpkin

1/4 Cup of Honey (or to taste)

1 32oz carton of vegetable stock (you can use chicken stock if you aren't cooking vegetarian)

1/2 pint heavy cream (or soy milk)

1/8 TSP Pumpkin Pie Spice (or to taste)

1/8 TSP Cinnamon (or to taste)

1/8 TSP Curry (or to taste...the darker the curry the sweeter it is...or so they say)

Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Place diced butternut squash on a foil-lined baking sheet and brush with melted butter. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and pumpkin pie spice. Roast for 1 hour or until fork-tender.

While the squash is roasting, saute the apples, carrots, celery, onion and garlic in extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil. Season with salt, pepper, 1/8 TSP pumpkin pie spice, 1/8 TSP cinnamon and 1/8 TSP of curry. (Of course these are all approximate spice measurements and will vary based on your taste...remember, you can always add more but you can't take it back out!)

Transfer sauteed veggies to a blender or food processor and puree. If you have an immersion blender, please use that! If you use a blender or food processor, take care because the veggies are hot and will need proper ventilation for steam.

As you puree, add small amounts of vegetable stock to make the blending process easier.
Add puree back to soup pot.

When the squash is fork-tender, remove from the oven and puree. If using an immersion blender, simply add to the soup pot and blend with the veggie puree.

Add all purees to the pot and then add a can of pumpkin and mix and the honey. Add heavy cream or soy milk and remaining vegetable stock until desired consistency is reached. (As a point of reference, this soup should be roughly the consistency of baby food. Hey...it was the best comparison I could come up with!)

Serve hot and garnished with pepitas or sunflower seeds.

A nice, crusty baguette or sandwich is also a nice addition.

Sit down and savor this soup. It is divine in its complexity and also in its simplicity.

This dish is vegetarian and gluten-free in my recipe, but can easily be made vegan by utilizing soy milk. It is also a nice addition to a Paleo diet. :)

What 9/11 taught me...

Before 9/11/01...

I understood the military. After all, I was raised by a Vietnam veteran and was newly married to a soldier.
I had this figured out. None of it was all that big of a deal, just another path in the life of some.

On September 11, 2001...

It was sunny and I was driving down I-470 in Topeka to get my son to daycare and then I was off to work. Gabe was turning 1 in four days and his daddy would be home on mid-tour leave soon from his hardship tour in South Korea. In my little bubble, that was all that mattered.

I was listening to Johnny Dare on 98.9 The Rock out of Kansas City. Suddenly, the typically snarky DJ becomes very serious. I can't remember his exact words, but they involved something about a plane hitting one of the twin towers in New York City. My blood froze and I listened. Holy crap. I didn't yet know what was happening but I knew it wasn't good.

Gabe was dropped off at daycare and I headed to my mom's work to quickly check the news. When I arrived, I watched the first tower collapse on TV. Pretty sure I cried.

I went to work. Everyone was glued to the news. I was waiting for anything from Mike over in Korea, I hadn't heard from him. Finally, the call. All he said was that they were on lock down and headed to the DMZ in BFV's.

His last words? "Stay away from Fort Riley. We're going to war."

The following days were a blur. Midtour leave was cancelled. Gabe turned 1, but rather than a cartoon cake he had an American Flag. His Uncle Ben, a Sailor headed to his station in Guam, was delayed due to cancelled flights. He was home to see his first nephew celebrate a birthday.

Sooner or later, life settled back into a routine. The Korean tour ended and life went on.

In March 2003, the orders for OIF came down. Gabe was sending his daddy to war.

The years since that combat tour have been full. Welcoming babies and saying our goodbyes to parents and grandparents.

I knew nothing about PTSD...what it was, what it could do, how to respond. As the years went on, it was trying to teach me but I wasn't seeing it. Eventually, it won.

Interestingly enough, when I did learn, it taught me some things I didn't expect. It didn't fix my marriage but it did teach me compassion and the ability to co-parent. It also taught me to look at my own dad...a man who I spent so many years angry with. All of a sudden, a sliver of light was making its way in.

Today, when I look at 9/11, I do remember the horror. We all do. How can we not?

But I also think of what this journey has taught me. The relationship I have with my own father now, 12 years later, is stronger that it's ever been. My mind has been opened...forgiveness has happened...this man who raised me is someone whom I respect more than any written word could express.

This weekend, in just a few days, my mom and dad will visit when Gabe turns 13 years old.

Maybe his cake will have Old Glory gracing it yet again. :)