Curried coconut squash soup

'Tis the season for soup. It's cheap and easy to make, especially if you are using your own soup stock (I promise to post instructions soon on how to make stock). It's healthy, nutritious, and warms you up on a cold day.

However, many people (myself included) are hesitant to make soup - thinking that it takes too long or is too complicated. It took me a few years to get over my soup-making anxiety but now I make a pot of soup most weeks during the winter. It stores well in the fridge and can be eaten every day for lunch.

This soup recipe is an amalgamation of various soup recipes that I've tried over the years. Soup recipes should just be considered as guidelines - play around with the ingredients until you get to a soup that works for you and your family.

Ingredients:
2 leeks, chopped into small pieces (only white parts - green parts are thrown away)
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 red pepper, chopped into small pieces
2 tbsp olive oil
1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed into 1 inch pieces
2-3 yams, peeled and cubed into 1 inch pieces
2-4 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp Hazelwood dried chicken blend (or 1 tsp sage + 1 tsp thyme + 1 tsp marjoram)
8-12 cups chicken stock
1/2 head cauliflower, chopped into small pieces
1/2 - 1 can coconut milk
1 tbsp salt (or to taste)

Directions:
1. Heat olive oil in the bottom of a large soup stock pot.
2. Add leeks, garlic, and red pepper to the pot. Sauté over medium heat until soft (about 5 mins).
3. Add cubed butternut squash and yams to pot. Add spices and mix well. Cook 5-8 minutes or until fragrant.
4. Cover with stock (using less or more stock depending on how thick you like your soup) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are soft.
5. Remove from heat briefly and using an immersion blender, blend the soup into a consistency of your choice.
6. Put soup back onto the heat and add cauliflower. Simmer for 5 minutes or until fork tender.
7. Add coconut milk and salt. Mix well.
8. Serve with hot buttered biscuits - yum!

These buttermilk biscuits are from the Canadian Living website. I didn't change a thing about the recipe and they were absolutely fabulous! One could probably cut back on the butter as a 1/2 cup of butter seems a bit much but why mess with a good thing?!