Butternut Squash and Pumpkin Soup

This is the butternut squash and pumpkin soup I made with my pumpkin from the farmers market. It was lovely. It tasted so good that it was hard not to eat more than one bowl :)

I grilled the pumpkin and the squash and a few large carrots in the oven while sauteing my onions and garlic in a little butter. Then I added the pumpkin, squash, carrots,vegetable stock, thyme, salt, pepper, bay leaf, cinnamon, nutmeg, 1 1/2 pealed and cored apples and let it all cook down for 30 or 40 min. I didn't actually time it. When it was done I used my potato masher and mashed it all up. It was all so soft that it just mashed right up and didn't even need a stick blender.

To serve I put a little cream on top and sprinkled on a few pumpkin/squash seeds. I toasted the seeds in the oven seasoned with nutmeg, cinnamon and a little salt. Then I caramelized them in a pan like you would nuts. The cream went on splotchy because I was afraid of pouring too much in. To make it in a smooth spiral you have to pour in quite a bit.

Here are some directions that are more precise to make it a little easier:

1 butternut squash

1/4 chunk of a pumpkin

3 carrots

1 large onion

1 clove garlic

1 bay leaf

few sprinkles of dried thyme

salt, pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg to taste

2 quarts of stock? (roughly I didn't measure it so you will need to watch how much you put in. You don't want it too runny and you can always add more if you need it so be careful. A good rule is to just cover the veggies with water and then add a cup or two more)

1-2 apples pealed, cored and chopped
knob of butter

Peal and chop your pumpkin, carrots, and squash, put on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil. Cook at about 400' F or 200' C (about) and roast until tender. You can also sprinkle these with salt if you want.

When those are about 10 min from done chop your onion and apples and add them to a hot pan with a knob of butter and a garlic clove. Add in your roasted vegetables, stock, bay leaf, dried thyme, and spices-let simmer until it cooks down-30-45min.

While that is cooking roast your squash and pumpkin seeds in the oven--put them on a baking tray, sprinkle with cinnamon, nutmeg and a little salt. When toasted put a small frying pan on the stove and melt some caster sugar. When it is liquid take it off the stove and add your seeds and toss together. Stay with the sugar when it is melting and stir-it will burn easily. If it burns-start over don't waste your seeds by putting them in the burned sugar. When they are hard break them apart and set aside.

When the soup is cooked down then mash it with a potato masher or blend. If it is too thick add cider, water, or stock to thin it out.

To serve drizzle with cream, sprinkle with fresh thyme and add a few seeds on top of the soup.