I don’t need to put away my comics to make soup! 50 points* to whoever can tell what the trade next to that soup is… ANYWAY, It’s chilly and squash is in season like whoa. Make freezing your butt off almost seem worth it with this super creamy, a little bit sweet, a little bit spicy soup! Or just get rid of all that butternut squash leftover in the fridge from Thanksgiving!

Soup Ingredients:

• 1 large butternut squash roasted with
• 2-4 tsp softened butter
• 2-4 tsp brown sugar
• 3 cups veggie broth
• 3 leeks sliced just the bulb
• 1 medium onion diced
• 1 carrot chopped fine
• 2 stalks of celery diced fine
• 1 garlic clove
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Olive oil
• ¼ cup cream (optional)
• cinnamon and cayenne (optional)

Pepita Garnish Ingredients:

• Raw Pepitas
• Brown Sugar
• Cayenne Pepper
• Olive or Coconut Oil
• Salt

Take a large butternut squash, cut long ways and remove seeds. Place on a cookie sheet and smear with butter and sprinkle a little bit of brown sugar and a little salt and pepper. Cook at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until soft. You can easily do this the night before or use leftover squash! This is also a great time to prep the pepitas.

Coat the pepitas with just a little olive or coconut oil – not too oily, just lightly evenly covered. Shake pepitas in a bag with brown sugar and then dust with cayenne and salt. Bake until pepitas look more white than green and slick. Only takes a few minutes. Best to take them out and shake them every few minutes until done.

In a large pan with a little olive oil, cook the onion, celery and leek until translucent, then add in carrot, finely chopped garlic, and veggie broth. Let everything cook until bubbly and veggies are all soft. Remove the butternut squash flesh (do not include husk) and add it in small cubes to the soup. Let this cool enough to transfer to blender. Add the soup to the blender and mix until smooth. Pour back into the soup pot and warm. At this time add 1/4 cup of cream for a richer taste, but if dairy isn’t your thing, it’s totally not necessary. Add salt, and pepper to taste. A little cayenne is great if you love spicy and a little cinnamon is great if you love sweet.

Serve your soup with spicy pepitas on top – then love your life!

Happy eating, geeks!

*points are pointless