6 Ingredient Carrot Squash Soup

I am struck by fall every year. 

Let's face it, the beauty of fall is complex and emotional, and perhaps that's part of it's allure. The whole notion of finding and appreciating such breathtaking beauty amid decay is complicated. The mood is such a departure from the carefree days of summer. 

The food is also so different. Fall's harvest has such a different look and flavor profile from the bounty of produce that we pick in summer. Think of a delicate raspberry side by side with a hearty pumpkin. So when I stroll through the farmer's market and see long tables of squash and gourds, it officially hits me that summer is gone and it's time to usher in the new season. 

Nothing says fall like a flavorful soup made from root veggies, so that's exactly what I decided to make recently. But I don't want fall soups that put me into a winter hibernation. We're not there yet. I don't want fall soups that are too heavy or creamy. They should provide comfort to take the slight edge off of the newly chilly air. They also need to be easy and fast, because let's face it: with the general chaos of a new school year, there just isn't time for anything complicated. Carrot squash soup to the rescue!

This soup has just 6 ingredients, it can be prepped and served in under an hour and though I made the most recent batch with chicken stock, this recipe can be made completely vegetarian.

6 Ingredient Carrot Squash Soup

Here's what you'll need:  
2 pounds of carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
1 pound of butternut squash chunks (from one medium butternut squash, or from a package of already prepped chunks)
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 tablespoons of olive oil
32 ounces of stock (chicken or vegetable) 
2 tablespoons of fresh sage, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional garnish: fresh sage and croutons

Here's what to do: 
In a soup pot on medium high heat, add the olive oil. After a few moments add the onions and reduce heat to medium. Stir until the onions are translucent, about 5-6 minutes. Add the carrots, squash and stock. Bring to a boil, stir, cover and simmer until the vegetables are soft (about 25 minutes). Add the sage. Using a stick blender, puree the soup right in the pot. If you don't have a stick blender, you can puree this soup using a traditional blender, working in batches. Add salt and pepper to taste if you'd like. 

Make Your Own Applesauce!

Now that we have a billion apples, we eat applesauce with almost every meal. I've been using a dozen apples for each batch but that lasts just a day or two! The hardest part of this recipe? Waiting. Great applesauce takes a long time because you have to cook them slowly to yield the best flavor and texture. My family likes it chunky and with cinnamon. We don't add sugar or sweetener of any kind because the natural sugar from slow-cooking, caramelized apples is perfect as is. 

Here goes: 

Peel a dozen apples. 

Hmm... probably a good idea to peel an extra apple or two to accommodate hungry apple thieves in your kitchen!

Cut the apples into chunks and place in a pot. Smaller chunks will yield a smoother sauce. 

Add 1-2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon and the juice of 1/2 lemon. Stir well. 

Simmer and cook slowly for approximately 60-90 minutes (or longer!) until the consistency is to your liking. Want to add other fruit? Here's a great recipe for apple-mango sauce. 

Enjoy!

Apple Picking & Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

We had our family's annual apple picking day yesterday - one of my favorite things to do in early fall. I hadn't realized until yesterday that in the 9 years that we've been doing this, we always go before Columbus Day weekend. Unfortunately for us, pretty much all of the apples on the trees at the orchard where we've been going for years had already been picked! They had giant bins with loads of different apples, separated by variety for latecomers like us. 

Frankly, October 12 doesn't seem particularly late in the season and this was a big disappointment for my adventurers who like to wield the heavy apple picker each year and carefully inspect their findings before adding them to our bag. Rather than go straight to the bins, my crew checked out what still remained on the trees and apple-picked the old fashioned way. When we exhausted our on-the-tree options, we headed for the bins.  

For the next week or so, it'll be round-the-clock apples. This morning, we began the day with Apple Cinnamon Pancakes and there's enough batter left over for tomorrow morning. 

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes (makes enough for about 6-8 servings, depending on size)

1 cup plain kefir
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
1 large egg
2 tablespoons coconut oil, plus more for frying pancakes (or use butter)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 large apple, shredded (I used a cheese grater) 

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well, making sure to eliminate flour lumps. Fry with coconut oil or butter and serve with fresh apple chunks for extra apple goodness!