Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

We’ve gotten into the habit of taking long hikes in the morning at our cottage. Our time there is seriously numbered– it’s a spot we only enjoy in the summer–so we’ve been taking full advantage of it this fall. On a recent walk, the lanes and pastures were full of trees bursting with apples. Scarlett couldn’t get enough of them. “Daddy, Get me the baby one!,” she’d yell. Actually, she was yelling because our neighbor told her bears like to eat the apples. “Bears!,” Scarlett inquired. “Don’t worry,” said Liz. “We won’t see any. They sleep during the day and, besides, if you make enough noise so they hear you coming, they’ll hide.” So Scarlett makes a lot of noise on our walks. A lot. She yells about everything. “CAN I HAVE SOME WATER, MOMMY?” It’s a bit much at 9 in the morning but  I don’t want to see a bear either.

We can’t eat the apples we gather on our walks. They’re more crab apples. However, it’s more fun for us to collect the  mini versions on our walks then to go to one of the popular farms outside of Toronto and pick apples with a zillion other people. I usually don’t get through the basket from those places any way. However, if you do find yourself staring down a big basket of juicy apples this fall then we’re here for you. This week we’ve got some great apple recipes for you.

This soup is a bit of a mish-mash of a few different  recipes I found. I pretty much took the elements I liked from each. Scarlett and I made it one morning together so it would be ready for us when we came home for our day.

I’d like to tell you that I peeled, sliced and cut the butternut squash myself. Alas, I didn’t. I get the best frozen organic, cut butternut squash from Whole Foods. So I threw that in the pot. In other words, this recipe was practically made in my sleep. But Scarlett did cut the apple. She was awake.

This soup smelled heavenly as it cooked. I loved that it filled my home with the sweet smell of warm, cinnamon-y apples. What I liked more was how great it tasted. Scarlett yelled, “DID WE REALLY MAKE THIS. IT’S SO GOOD!” She’s still yelling. Even though we’re home with no bears in sight.

This post was originally posted on September 19, 2011.