Butternut Squash Soup (and roasted squash seeds)

Well, I successfully made it to my internship in Michigan, where I will be doing environmental education for gradeschoolers. The kitchen in the intern house isn't exactly fully stocked with all the right cooking utensils, and we've been sorting through drawers trying to figure out the answers to mysteries such as why there are 50 sharp knives and only one spatula.

On my long drive up last weekend I stopped in Ohio for a few days, and during that time I managed to wander over to the farmer's market in Yellow Springs, where I bought a butternut squash. I'd never made butternut squash soup before, so I decided to experiment.

No promises that this is the best soup ever, but it's not bad!

Soup
1 large butternut squash
Coconut oil
Salt
1 onion
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 cups vegetable (or chicken) broth
2 cups water
1 cup coconut milk

Preheat the oven to 425F. Cut the squash in half longways and scoop out the seeds with a spoon, saving them to roast. Cover the squash with coconut oil and a couple pinches of salt, then roast in the oven for about an hour (I'm not quite sure on the time, since the oven here isn't the most reliable). When the squash cuts easily, it's done! Take it out to cool.

While the squash is roasting, cut up the onion and cook it in a skillet with coconut oil, ginger, nutmeg, and a pinch or two of salt until translucent. Remove it from the heat, and add in the broth and water.

Scrape the squash into the pot and cook on medium-high until it boils, then reduce to a simmer for about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and add in the milk.

Now comes the tricky part. Scoop all of the squash solids out of the pot and put them in a blender, then blend until smooth. Pour it back into the soup pot and repeat until the soup is smooth. It will take more than one attempt.

Serve hot or cold.

Roasted Squash Seeds
This should work with any winter squash. A winter squash is any squash that grows in the summer and develops a hard, thick skin by the time it's harvested. Because of this thick rind, it can be safely stored for long periods of time (like into winter). Butternut squash, acorn squash, spaghetti squash, and the very familiar pumpkin are all examples of winter squashes.

The skin is inedible, but the flesh is pretty tasty and nutrient-rich when cooked, and the seeds can be roasted and eaten.

Roasting squash seeds is incredibly easy, and a way better use of resources than throwing them out (though if you compost them, you might get exciting squashy surprises next summer!) I like to roast mine just using coconut oil and salt, but there are other toppings you can try.

Preheat the oven to 400F or so (you can roast the seeds at the same time as you roast the squash itself, if you want). Scoop the seeds out of the squash and put them in a bowl filled with just enough water to cover the gloop. With your hands, go through the gloop and seeds and throw anything that's not a seed into the compost. Take the seeds and rinse them off, then pat them try with a towel. If possible, leave them out for a while to dry. If you're impatient (or doubling up oven usage) they'll cook just fine even if they're slightly damp.

Put the seeds into a bowl and pour in a little bit of coconut oil and a little bit of salt, then stir to coat. Put them in a layer one thick on a baking sheet, and roast for about 15-20 minutes. They'll darken, but if they start to brown on the edges, they're burnt.

The easiest way to tell when winter squash seeds have finished roasting is by sound. When you start hearing popcorn-like noises inside your oven, they're done and you need to pull them out quickly before they burn.