Winter can really be a bummer.

The days are short. The skies are grey. The temperature drops to the point where all I want to do is curl up on the couch with the LBD (that’s the Little Black Dog who is kind enough to share her apartment with me) and a good book or a movie.

I can’t complain too much about the weather here in Kansas City this year. It’s been fairly mild. We haven’t seen much snow and I’ve worn my Northface fewer times than I can recall since making the move from Dallas.

But it’s still winter and the cold weather has me feeling a little blue and, as my mama used to say when we were fighting colds, puny. So today is going to be a soup day.

I’ve been thinking about a butternut squash soup for a long time, but have always been afraid to try it. I don’t know why. Is it the novelty of the butternut squash? Is it fear of not knowing what to do with this strange looking thing in the produce section?

Probably a little bit of all of that. Heck, I didn’t even know if it was a fruit or a vegetable! (Incidentally, it is a fruit that is often used as a vegetable. It can be roasted, toasted, puréed, or mashed and is often interchangeable with that well known gourd of Halloween renown, the pumpkin.) But mostly, I just didn’t do anything with it because, well, I just didn’t.

So this year, I’m tackling things that I’ve talked about in the past but never done. I’m gonna cook new things. I’m gonna eat at new places. I’m gonna try my hand at new techniques and recipes and styles of food and invite my friends to join me on the ride.

As I was putting together ideas for this soup, I wanted to keep it full of flavor but make it vegan. I’m not a vegan. I’m not a vegetarian. I am most definitely a carnivore.  But I do have friends who are vegetarian or vegan and I want to be able to share things with them.

So here it is, the first addition to this cookbook. I hope you enjoy!

For this recipe I wanted some sweet and savory elements. Butternut squash was a given, but I read that apple was a good pairing, especially Granny Smith. I added onion, carrot and garlic along with salt, pepper, and a pinch of both cinnamon and nutmeg to balance the flavors.

After about 6 and a half hours of amazing smells, I added unsweetened coconut milk to give creaminess without the dairy. This is another first for me, but is fairly common in vegan cooking. It’s got a rich flavor that has just a hint of coconut flavor.

I puréed, and let simmer for about 30 minutes, garnished, and served with some crusty bread and a side salad.

WINTER SQUASH SOUP
This slow cooker soup is full of rich butternut squash flavor
⏲ prep: 20 minutes; cook:7-8 hours 🍴 yield: 6-8 servings

INGREDIENTS
2 cups vegetable stock
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 cup baby carrots
1 Granny Smith Apple, cored and diced
1 medium butternut squash, uncooked, peeled, cored, and diced
1 sprig fresh sage
1 white onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste)
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper (to taste)
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
Garnish: cayenne pepper, coconut milk

DIRECTIONS
1. Add all ingredients but coconut milk to a 4-6 quart slow cooker.
2. Stir to combine.
3. Cook for 6-8 hours on low (or 3-4 hours on high) or until squash is tender and mashes easily with a fork.
4. Stir in coconut milk.
5. Using an immersion blender, purée soup until smooth. Alternately, carefully transfer soup mixture to a blender or food processor and purée.
6. Serve warm, with garnish and crusty bread.