Curried Butternut Squash Soup

So, I've been a little busy lately. Haven't posted as much as I'd like to! The other night I did make incredible chicken tacos with a fresh avocado salsa. Unfortunately, I was drinking wine all day and talking to a friend on Skype. The meal was delicious, but it's a miracle that I didn't slice my hand off or burn the house down. Shawty crunk.

Anyway, tonight I set out on a soup journey. A few years ago, someone made a similar dish and I swore that I'd try to do it myself one day.

Curried Butternut Squash Soup. The name alone is intimidating. I had no idea what I was getting in to when I made this one. I'm tired beyond belief, so I could have taken MORE pictures... but, let's take a look anyway, shall we?

First order of business: Taking the trash out. I *might* have a love for booze.

This would be a delicious pile of onions, a sweet potato, a giant squash (which I will call SASQUASH) ANNNNDDD a shake weight. Don't judge me.

Trail of tears.

Garlic, bruh. You need it. Mince it. 2 cloves.

Have you ever tried cutting one of these things?!?! They're RIDICULOUS. We should be making bulletproof vests out of butternut squash skin. Jesus.

FINALLY got it skinned, seeded and chopped into small one inch cubes. Conclusion: I NEED A PEELER. IMMEDIATELY. Using a knife to do this was horrendous. This picture is a visual display of my attitude toward the process.

Now, it's a sweet potato's turn to go. I didn't take a picture of it, but I ended up throwing these in a foil boat with three tablespoons of butter, dark brown sugar, honey and cinnamon. Baked it for about 25 minutes at 425 while everything cooked.

That would be six cups of chicken stock (I used four cups of a coconut curry stock and two cups of regular sodium free chicken stock).

The squash cubes.

The onions and garlic (which was sauteed [but not browned] in this pan until it was soft).

Curry powder --- about 1.5 tablespoons of spicy curry (I recommend madras curry powder).

Bring it to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the squash is soft. Then, you throw about two tablespoons of fresh honey in the mix.

Now it's all softly and cooked... time to blend it. You can use an immersion blender (which I don't have) or a food processor (as seen here). I took this ladle and pulsed the soup until it was almost puree. I also added the sweet potato cubes from the oven into the food processor.

Add nutmeg and cinnamon... and cayenne pepper!

I threw a little cream in there to tone the spice down a bit. I wanted the sweet element to shine.

Serve with a good crusty bread and an optional spoon. I minced fresh ginger and chopped fresh cilantro to throw on top, too.

It was truly delicious. I can't wait to eat it tomorrow lol.

aaaand a more flattering picture of myself. I needed a redemption shot after the hangover face from the Veggie Tuscan Bake entry the other day. Oi vey.

Give this a shot! It's worth the effort. Seriously.