Butternut Squash Soup

The baby shower was a great success. The room looked beautiful, the mom-to-be was gifted with many presents evoking "oohs" and "ahhs". But, I will wait to write more until I have the pictures to accompany such a great occasion. (we did not play any baby momma baby shower games either). So, in the meantime, I will share about last night's recipe, and please excuse the ladel dribbles on the side of the bowl- not fancy, I know, but we were in a hurry to watch 24!

One of my husbands favorite recipes is this Butternut Squash Soup recipe I found in Wal-Mart once upon a grocery shopping trip. It has coconut milk, jalapenos, onions, and ginger- some of my very favorite things. So, I made a double batch last night, brought it over to a friends house and we watched the torturous show 24 with Keifer Sutherland. This time I also cleaned and toasted the butternut squash seeds to add as a garnish in the soup, and it was a delicious addition. So, here is the recipe (I lost the actual card, so this is from memory and therefore could be different if you happen to have this recipe):
1 butternut squash- peeled, pitted and cubed
1 medium onion chopped
1 jalapeno minced
1 inch piece of ginger cut into matchsticks
2 cans of chicken stock
1 can coconut milk

Saute the onion, jalapeno, and ginger with some salt and olive oil in a large pot, once softened and flavors released, add chicken stock, and squash, and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the squash is soft. Then pour mixture into blender in batches and blend until smooth, adding a portion of the coconut milk at the end of each batch you blend. (it usually takes about 2 batches to blend all of the soup, so pour in half the coconut milk can with each batch). You can top with the toasted seeds, a drizzle of coconut oil, or fresh chopped cilantro. Adjust the jalapeno to taste too! I wish I had more in mine last night, the coconut oil cools it down. Enjoy this yummy winter soup! Now, I just need to come up with a raw version of it!

For the toasted seeds, I just cleaned, tossed in olive oil and a little salt and baked at 350 until crispy.