Butternut-Apple Soup

Well, folks, it's Autumn, so it's time to endure the bittersweet wonderfulness of Fall vegetables.  Don't get me wrong, I love Fall veggies.  They just tend to take more energy to prepare, and as you may have noticed, preparing food is agony for me.  Even with my new, fancy Wusthof knife, cutting up the butternut squash for this recipe took forever, and killed. 

A somewhat wise friend once told me that pain has a short memory.  She was right.  A few weeks ago I endured the debilitating torture of cooking and pureeing a tasty Creamy Tomato Soup.  When I finally finished up and curled up in a ball on the floor, I made a mental note not to undertake such big projects again - unless my back improves.  But here I am, reeling from another toilsome afternoon in the kitchen, with the acidy-burny sensation in my back reminding me that I should aspire to smaller tasks.

Anyway, here's the recipe.  I handled this in much the same way as I did the tomato soup, I even froze it in ziplock bags, flat on the freezer floor. 

Butternut-Apple Soup

1 to 3 tsp olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 to 3 cloves garlic, minced 

25 to 32 oz. chicken broth

2 butternut squashes (about 5 lbs total), peeled and chopped into 1-inch cubes

2 granny smith apples, peeled and chopped into 1-inch cubes

1 to 2 tsp salt

1/2 to 1 tsp black pepper

In large pot, heat oil.  Add onions, cook until softened.  Add garlic, cook for about a minute.  Add broth, squash, apples, salt and pepper.  Bring to boil, lower to simmer, cook until tender.  Let cool for 5 to 20 minutes before beginning to puree in small batches in food processor. 

At this point, you can either let it cool before dividing into freezer packages, or you can transfer it back into the pot to heat it up to serve.