Classic Butternut Squash Soup

Soup, soup, and more soup. I warned you.
At least Michael is at work morning, noon, and night, which means that I can eat whatever I please without him wrinkling up his nose. Like I said, he's not a fan of soups, no.. not so much. Give him his favorite three, Split Pea, Chicken or Turkey Noodle (after the holidays), or his Chili and that's it. Oh, and by the way did I mention that he'll usually only indulge in one bowl of these (each) only one time. Not good at reocurring subsequent dinners for his taste. He has this "motto" about certain foods: "I'm good with this (insert the particular dish here) once a year". He feels that way about alot of foods. Just give the man a steak and tater and he's died and gone to heaven.
That's okay with me though. It just means - MORE FOR ME. I told you I keep them "stashed" in the freezer. There have always been plenty of evenings when I am dining alone while he's hard at work in his restaurant. So for me these frozen "stashes" of love are always a welcome retreat from the usually heavy, fat leaden dinners that he prefers. A nice bowl of soup and a salad and I'd call that the perfect dinner.


I'm sending this to Deb at Kahakai Kitchen for Souper Sundays

Classic Butternut Squash Soup
Adapted from Whole Foods Market


Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2/3 cup diced carrot (about 1 (8-inch) large carrot)
1/2 cup diced celery (about 1 (11-inch) large stalk)
2/3 cup diced onion (about 1 medium onion)
4 cups cubed butternut squash (about 1 medium squash)
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
4 to 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste


Directions
Heat olive oil in a large soup pot. Add carrot, celery and onion. Cook until vegetables have begun to soften and onion turns translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add butternut squash and thyme. Stir to combine with vegetables. Stir in chicken broth and season with salt and pepper.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until squash is fork-tender, about 30 minutes. Use an immersion blender to puree soup. Alternatively, let the soup cool slightly and carefully puree in batches in a traditional blender.
Serves 6
(For the garnish I made a parmesan frico or crisp with a few thyme sprigs melted into it.)



Thanksgiving has come and gone and now it's time to gear up for Christmas and the New Year. I spent this past week end pulling out all of our Christmas decorations and the inside of the house is just about finished. Michael just has to find the time to do the outside and we'll be finished. I love going all out at Christmastime, and I like to get it done right after Thanksgiving has passed, so that we can enjoy the ambiance of it all for a while. Stay warm and keep cooking everyone.
Carla and Michael