Vegan Week Kick-Off: Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

I know what you're thinking..... what kind of omnivore decides to go vegan? Well, the purpose of this challenge was to find more sustainable kitchen methods than we've used in the past. I've already preached about eating higher quality, more humane meats and acknowledged the fact that they're more expensive and less accessible to a large portion of this country. Americans eat a lot of meat, but why? Delicious meals can be prepared not only free of meat, but free of all animal products. So, it was decided to initiate Vegan Week in conjunction with Holy Week, which is potentially crazy for a busy liturgical musician who also works a 9-5.... it'll make that Easter Ham taste even more delightful.

Note: I don't actually like veganism. I think it's just because I can't trust a person who doesn't eat cheese (I drink whole milk for crying out loud!). It's a diet that's simply never going to be the norm in most cultures and for certain individuals it can even cause health problems. But that doesn't mean that vegans don't have an extremely valid argument that I respect. I'm eating vegan for a week... why don't you try it for just one meal a week? This stems from an absolute LOVE of eating meat... I'm just trying to have a greater respect for where that animal flesh comes from.

Anyway:

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup (adapted from Barefoot Contessa: Parties)

4 Tbs olive oil

3 large yellow onions, shopped

2 Tbs curry powder

5 Lbs butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks

4 large apples (Macintosh... I used Fiji) peeled, cored, and cut into chunks

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper

2 cups apple juice or cider

Warm the olive oil in a stockpot over low heat. Add the onions and curry and cook until the onions are tender, about 15 mins. Be sure to keep scraping the bottom of the pot.

Add the squash, apple, salt, pepper, and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce the heat to low and cook for 30-40 mins until the squash and apples are squish, but not mushy.

Either process the soup through a food mill, or just use an immersion blender right in the pot to puree the soup. Like so:

Add the apple juice and water (if you want) to get the soup to the consistency you desire. Check for salt and pepper.

Ta-da! You just made a DELICIOUS vegan soup!