Apple-Cinnamon Butternut Squash Soup: A perfect dish for these brisk autumn nights!

During my hunt for healthy, yet hearty, foods that would also expand my taste palate, I came across a few tasty looking recipes for butternut squash soup. I narrowed it down to one on the sweeter side, provided by Pillsbury. I followed the recipe as closely as possible--since my two "medium" squashes produced a little more than 8 cups of flesh, I upped the apple quantity a little as well. It's delicious! And my boyfriend is already on his third helping. Yes, THIRD.

Apple-Cinnamon Butternut Squash Soup

source: Pillsbury.com

Ingredients 

8 cups cubed seeded peeled butternut squash (2 medium)*
1 large apple, peeled, chopped
1 large onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3 cups (Fat Free & Low Sodium) chicken broth
3/4 (1%) cup milk
1 container (6 oz) Greek Fat Free plain yogurt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

1. In Dutch oven, mix squash, apple, onion, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon and pepper. Add broth. Cover; heat to boiling over medium-high heat. Reduce heat; simmer about 20 minutes or until squash is tender.

1. In blender or food processor, place one-third of mixture. Cover; blend until smooth. Repeat twice to use up remaining soup. Return to Dutch oven, stir in milk and yogurt. Heat over low heat, stirring occasionally, just until heated through. Ladle into bowls; sprinkle with chives.

Expert Tips: When selecting butternut squash, look for those that have hard, tough rinds and are heavy for their size. Peeling the squash will be easier if you first microwave it on High for 3 minutes.Purchase already peeled and cut-up squash if available at your grocery store. If you’re cutting it yourself, a good, swivel-headed vegetable peeler is the tool of choice to make quick work of peeling the squash.

My nutritional info is quite different from the website, perhaps because my batch was slightly larger.

Serving: 1 cup Calories per serving: 106 Total Fat: .03g Cholesterol: 2mg Sodium: 299mg Potassium: 495mg Total Carbs: 25g Fiber: 3.5g Sugars: 10.3g Protein: 3.7g

Vitamin A: 265% Vitamin C: 50% Calcium: 11% Iron: 5.5%

*If you live near a Trader Joe's, check it out for squash. It's the cheapest and best quality squash in the area! (Including a local orchard. I love supporting them, but the price was way too high in comparison this time.)

A Little History for Thursdays: Bobbing for Apples

Ever wonder why we're so willing to shove our faces into a barrel of water for an apple?

(Well, maybe not this year...)

The History of Bobbing for Apples

This tradition appears to have originated from Samhain, the Celtic harvest celebration.  The apple (as I am well aware ;) ) is a symbol of fertility, then represented by the Roman goddess Pomona.  When sliced in half, the apple's seeds form a sort of five-pointed star, like the pentagram.  The pentagram, to the Celts, was also a great fertility symbol.  From there, the apple just seemed like a natural fit!

The apple then became an object of divination used to predict marrages during that time of year.  Those who were unmarried at the time of the celebration would take turns trying to bite into an apple, either in a pool of water or hanging from a string.  The first one to do so would be the next expected to wed.

And to think that today it's thought of as a child's game...

One article on the topic says that the [girl] to possess the bitten apple would dream of her future lover when placed under her pillow at night.  I find that to (1) be uncomfortable and (2) be sticky.

The apple was also used to foresee other things.  By peeling an apple infront of a candle-lit mirror, one could see not only the image of one's future hubby but also the years left of one's life according to the peel length before it broke.  I think knowing such things only takes the fun and mystery out of life!

Links/Sources:

• Haunted Bay
• Wikipedia
• The Spectator