The Most AMAZING Winter Soup EVER!

OhMyGoodness, I just HAVE to tell you about this soup!

It's Butternut Squash/Potato...with a secret ingredient that we added (and that makes it one of the most PRETTY soups on the face of the earth :-)....

But first...

Here's how we came upon this fabulous recipe/soup idea....

I was in the doctor's office waiting for my 12-year-old son to come out of radiology (Nothing terrible...just a re-check because he broke a toe over Thanksgiving--he'll tell you with a sideways grin about that vicious door jamb that jumped up and bit him in the foot, a.k.a. how he tripped over a door jamb)...ANYWAY....My youngest  son, who is nine, came up to me in the waiting room with a hospital magazine in hand. You know the magazines I'm talking about. They tell you about why you need to have a mammogram, who benefits from getting a colonoscopy, and when the yoga classes are held. And then they have recipes. (Hmmm...strange mix, isn't it?)...

"Mom," my youngest son says, "I think we can make this soup tonight. It's right here, in this magazine. It sounds good."

Typically I'm suspicious and don't listen too much when nine-year-olds tell me "it sounds good," but I looked at where his little finger was pointing on the page anyway.

And, by golly, he was right. That recipe looked pretty darn good.

YES, we decided right then and there. THIS was the recipe for US. (Boy, did that make my son happy. It's not every day that he gets to plan dinner.)

So here is OUR version of the soup that, by the way, was such an enormous hit, we have all decided that we absolutely MUST make it again, within the month.

And again, like most of what I post here, this recipe is so simple, it pleases me to no end.


COLORFUL CHUNKY BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP (our new name)

In a pot of water, throw in...
A LOT of Butternut Squash, outer casing cut off and yummy insides chunked (my word)
A bunch of potatoes, peeled and chunked
(In an amount that is about half of what you put in of the squash) Huge organic carrots (my son's words...and they were huge) that are...chunked
A couple of big, fat onions, chopped into luscious...chunks
A clump of celery, chopped finely (because my kids don't like celery much, and finely chopping it tends to make it disappear into the broth that way)
Season to taste with light seasonings (you want to taste the simplicity and complimentary exquisiteness of it all)

("What?!" you say, "No measurements?!" Oh yes. If you've read this blog before, you'll remember that my mother taught me that measuring in the kitchen was like a jazz musician playing without improvisation. If you're good, you know how to improv. Easy for her to say. Took me a while to learn how to do this...but I suggest that you at least try, for my mother's--and for the jazz musicians'--sakes).

BACK TO THE SOUP....

Boil, then simmer. A long time. Really long. Then...

 Take half of the soup, blend it smooth in the blender, and add the blended soup back with the chunky soup.

NOW! for the magic ingredient....(Drum Roll Puhleez!)
Wash a generous amount of fresh, organic, whole-leaf spinach (woo-hoo!)...
Drop the spinach into the soup--for just minutes, so that the leaves keep shape.

Serve!!!

Honestly, this has to be one of the BEST SOUPS EVER!


To eating clean and loving it,
Erin