This is love

Actually, this is soup. Comfort food at its finest!

Fall and winter are the perfect seasons for comfort food, and in my mind, food does not get much more comforting than this! Warm, savory soup, with brightly coloured veggies and seasoned with all of those warming spices. This is the stuff that happiness is made of!

(Actually, it’s made mostly of butternut squash… but who says that isn’t happy??)

Feel free to use any veggies that you want to toss into this! My favourites are Brussels sprouts, mung bean sprouts or roasted red peppers.

Butternut Squash Soup :

· 2 (20-oz.) packages (2½ lbs.) pre-cut butternut squash (if using fresh squash, you’ll need one large squash or 7-8 cups cubed)

· 1 red bell pepper, roughly chopped

· 1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped

· 3 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled

· 7 cups water

· 1 Tbsp. salt

· 2 Tbsp. sugar, (optional)

· ½ cup heavy cream

· Fresh thyme sprigs, for garnish (optional)

1) Combine all of the ingredients except for the heavy cream in a large soup pot. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 35 minutes

2) Using a hand-held immersion blender, purée the soup until silky smooth. (You could also cool the soup slightly, then purée in a blender in batches, making sure to leave the hole in the lid open to allow the steam to escape)

3) Stir in the heavy cream and bring to a simmer. Taste and adjust seasoning (depending on the sweetness of the vegetables, you may need up to a tablespoon more sugar)

4) Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with fresh chopped thyme or thyme sprigs, if desired