I have a confession to make: I’m pumpkin-ed out. Between the oatmeal, the lattes, the soups, the pies, the ice cream – I might explode if I see another pumpkin.
But that doesn’t mean I’m staying away from the entire squash family of foods. To take its place, the butternut squash:
Did you know (from the livestrong.com website):
- Beta carotene imparts the orange-yellow color of butternut squash.
- In the body, beta carotene is converted to vitamin A, which helps maintain eye health.
- Vitamin A, a fat-soluble vitamin, also is important in maintaining healthy mucous membranes and other soft tissues, and it plays a role in promoting healthy skin.
- A serving of butternut squash contains 298 percent of a person’s daily value for vitamin A.
On one usually warm October day, I took my first culinary adventure with this super food. I say “adventure” because it was one trying to peel that darn thing! Since my infamous mandoline slicer incident of 2009, I’m crazy scared of cutting myself again. AFTER I managed to peel it without inflicting bodily harm, I got two tips from Twitter on how to make the process easier:
Luckily, no Clevelanders were harmed in the creation of this dish. Considering I ate the entire recipe by dinner, I think it’s safe to say it’s a winner.
Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup
Provides three hearty bowls of soup (or enough to last me one long Sunday afternoon)
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 5 large carrots, chopped
- 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded & cubed
- 1 TBS garlic, minced
- sea salt, a hefty sprinkle
- ground black pepper, a hefty sprinkle
- celery salt, a hefty sprinkle
- garlic powder, a hefty sprinkle
- 2 – 14.5 oz cans of low-sodium chicken broth
METHOD:
Melt the butter in a large pot. Add the onion, garlic, squash and carrot to the melted butter.
Season with liberal sprinklings of salt, pepper, celery salt and garlic powder. Mix contents well, coating the veggies with the melted butter and sauté for 5 minutes.
Next, add the chicken broth to the pot. The amount from the two cans should just cover the veggies. Bring to a boil, cover with a lid and cook for 30 minutes, or until all the veggies are tender.
With an emersion blender, blend until smooth or to desired consistency. Serve immediately. Eat the rest of the afternoon away while getting your vitamin A on.
Winter squash adventure number one is complete! Next up: Spaghetti Squash!
You obviously liked it, but I can’t imagine eating carrot soup…..hmmmmmm…….next time you might have to invite me over for a taste test!
looks great…can I try it? yum!
Yummmy, it looks so awesome. I haven’t had any pumpkin this season, I could go for a pumpkin latte.
I’m starting to feel pumpkined out too. I actually have some in the fridge that I need to use up but can’t find the motivation for it. Butternut squash though? I’ve only had that a few times, so it’s still game. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I don’t pumpkin spice lattes but I will be making a pumpkin cranberry bread once I buy the appropriate pans for baking bread.
I’m also a fan of butternut squash.
I use the microwave trick too. It definitely helps for any sort of squash.
Looks delish! Every time I think I’m pumpkined out, I find something else pumkiny that I want to make!
[...] After my previous experiment with my butternut squash, I’ve moved on to the next squash to catch my eye: the spaghetti squash! [...]
[...] My new found love: butternut squash: I could bring my Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup, although getting it there might be difficult. But the combination in this Butternut Squash, Apple, [...]
Sorry so late on this response but one nice thing about butternut squash is that you don’t have to peel it if you are just going to roast it. I had some last night, just sliced into thin wedges, seeds scooped out and some dressing and roasted them. That’s about as simple as it gets but don’t see too many reasons to make it any more complicated.