Living in New England, the weather is so unpredictable. We had 6-8 inches of snow on October 30th this year. Early for our Boston suburbs. As soon as the weather changes, I started making batches of soup to freeze. Soup on a wintery day is my favorite meal.

I use to roast whole butternut squash, then peel and cut for this soup. Recently I jokingly said that I was changing my middle name to easy. Now I purchase packaged peeled and cut butternut squash, and the taste of the soup has not been altered.

Roasted vegetables are deliciously flavorful, and roasting butternut squash brings out a nutty flavor. Lately, I have been using pepitas in salads. To add crunch and heat, I tossed the pepitas with spices and toasted them.

Another benefit of this soup is that it is low fat and vegan, very healthy!

1 package(20 oz.) butternut squash
1 medium yellow onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 celery rib, chopped (about 3/4 cup)
1 carrot, chopped (about 3/4 cup)
1 tart granny smith apple, peeled, cored, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cups vegetable broth
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 375. Line one large baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Place squash, onion, celery, carrot, and apple in a baking pan. Drizzle with olive oil. Roast for 30-35 minutes.

Working in batches, purée the vegetables in a blender alternating with the vegetable broth until the mixture is smooth. Pour the puréed vegetable mixture into a large stockpot.

Add cinnamon, nutmeg, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper to the squash soup and heat until hot.

Top with toasted spicy pepitas. (optional)

Spicy Pepitas

1/2 cup of pepitas

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 hot paprika

1/4 cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 black pepper

Place pepitas in a bowl. Add the oil, sea salt, paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and black pepper; toss to combine. Put pepitas in a toaster oven pan and toast for 2 minutes.

Enjoy!