Soup's on!

We had the most delicious soup for dinner last night, if I might toot my own horn a little. The inspiration was a Rachael Ray recipe from an article on dinners for $10 or less. You may or may not have heard that there is a new budget in town in our household, and it's pretty stingy. This, however, was a wonderfully hearty and comforting dish that didn't for a second feel like I was back in my dorm room heating up KD in a hot plate. And, surprisingly enough, it's one of my first real recipe creations. I'm a bit of a slave to the recipe and don't often venture off on my own. I'm like my mom that way, and the polar opposite of my dad, who has rarely met two foods he hasn't combined in some way. But after this experience, you may just see more of these creations popping up on here. Personally, I think the garnishes are what really make this a hit. I'm a big fan of the garnish. On the side I roasted a bulb of garlic, mashed it into some melted butter and spread it on toasted english muffins. Dee-lish. I'd love for you to try this soup out and tell me what you think. Things are not very objective around our kitchen table.

Curried Fall Vegetable Soup

Serves 4

Soup:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp freshly grated ginger

2 tsp curry powder

1 tsp cumin

1 cup apple juice or cider

4 cups water or vegetable broth

1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

1/2 butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

1 small head of cauliflower, roughly chopped

Garnish:

Olive oil

Plain yogurt

Chopped cilantro

French fried onions

Freshly squeezed lime juice

Heat olive oil in large saucepan or stock pot on medium heat. Add ginger and fry for 1 minute. Add curry powder and cumin and cook, stirring frequently, for about 3 minutes. Add apple juice and scrape bottom and sides of pan. Add water, sweet potato and squash and bring to a boil. Add cauliflower and simmer until all vegetables are tender. Remove pan from heat and puree soup with immersion blender.

To serve, pour soup into bowls and top with a drizzle of olive oil, a dollop of yogurt, a tablespoon or so each of french fried onions and cilantro, and a splash of lime juice.

Picture to come soon! (I was too hungry to remember to take one last night, so you'll have to wait until the leftovers are heated up this evening...)