Butternut Squash Soup *A WHOLE family friendly recipe for Thanksgiving*

I'm not going to wax philosophical on the meaning of Thanksgiving today..

It's the one day a year we don't need some weird keyboard warrior to remind us to smile at our significant other as he watches football on the couch. It's the day we don't get frustrated at the dog for being under our feet or our sister for bringing that musician boyfriend nobody can seem to get behind.
It's the day you invite the vegan cousin for dinner... knowing you're going to have to watch him glare at the turkey and remind you that it once had a brain and a mother.

The newly converted Buddhist/Artist/Dog Groomer/Theramin player/Splashing Hands Instructor brother will sit next to your lawyer friend who couldn't get home for the holiday.
And everyone will hate something on the table and something on the tv. Everyone will tell you why the last election was rigged or right and everyone will roll their eyes as 3 different denominations insist on leading the prayer over the meal.
And everyone will leave without a hint of animosity at the diverse table of gorgeous souls who had one thing in common: Everything to be grateful for.

So thank you for reading <3 Thank you for opening your hearts...
And thank you for leaving me the turkey leg ;) The wishbone is all yours. I couldn't hope for another amazing thing this year...

So. What are you going to feed your vegan paleo diabetic celiacs with peanut allergies this year?

How about some Butternut Squash soup?

Easy Peasy. Ready??

I very large butternut squash. Peeled, seeded, and cubed.
1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped

4 or 5 carrots, cleaned and chopped
4-6 cups of veggie stock (depending on your desired consistency and # of folks to serve)
Cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, clove OR curry powder... if ya wanna schmancy it ;)

Preheat oven to 400. You have the option of tossing your cubed squash in olive oil and salt before spreading in an even layer on your cookie sheet (I don't prefer to cook with olive oil.. but that's a whole nother post... here I would use butter or bacon grease depending on my desired flavor)
Roast for 30-40 minutes until a fork inserts easily.

Toss your onion into a large hot pot with some kind of fat (butter, olive oil, lard, tallow, bacon grease....) until onions have softened. Add carrots and any other veggies you want to use. Butternut squash has a very rich flavor, so this is an ideal place to sneak cauliflower or any extra veg into your family's dinner without any complaining ;)

Cook until you have reached a pretty uniform tenderness and add your veggie stock. Obviously, you can use beef or chicken stock here as well, but we're being vegan today ;)

 

 

Add your roasted butternut squash to stock and cook until your liquid has reduced by about 1/4. Add whatever spices tickle your turkey and hit the whole thing with a stick blender or slowly add to a food processor until you've reached your desired consistency =)

Serve it up to your colorful collection of loved ones and enjoy one last silent night before the next of the holidays hits ya between the eyes ;)