Vegan Kabocha Squash Soup

Wintry Squash Soup

It's been unseasonably cold here in So Cal.  There's snow to 3,000 feet.  Which means, when the rains stop and the clouds clear, we'll see lots of snow on all the mountaintops around here.  I might actually know, visually, that it's winter here!

Tonight, we had the perfect winter fare, a hearty soup that Jane concocted, and brown bread from our old standby Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites (veganized, of course).  The soup was so good and filling I almost didn't have room for my salad!

Anyway, here's Jane's recipe for Kabocha Squash Soup

• One Kabocha Squash
• 2 Acorn Squash
• 2 Tbs Olive Oil
• 1 medium sweet onion, diced
• 6 Cups vegetable broth
• salt to taste
• 3-4 vegan sausages cut into slices

1. Wash the squash.  Cut into quarters.  Remove seeds.  Then place on roasting pan (lined with Nonstick Silicone Baking Mat and place in 450°F oven for 30-45 minutes or until tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from oven and allow squash to cool to room temperature.
2. Once squash has cooled, scrape flesh from rind.  Add olive oil to stock pot.  When oil is heated through and bottom of pot coated, add onion and sautee until soft and just beginning to brown, 5-10 minutes.  Add squash to stock pot, and mash with potato masher. Slowly add vegetable stock, making sure to mix thoroughly. Heat through.
3. You can leave the soup "lumpy" which is more reminiscent of a stew to me. Or you can puree the soup with an Immersion Blender. (If you don't have one of these and you make soups, you should really consider getting one. It's so much easier than trying to divide the soup into batches and run it through the food processor!)
4. Follow the directions to prepare your sausage.  Once "cooked" (some products won't need to be cooked, they can simply be added directly to the soup), slice sausage.  Add to soup.  Heat through.

Jane used Field Roast Mexican Chipotle sausage.  Personally, I find them way too spicy, even added to this thick soup.  I think their smoked apple sage variety would work very well here.

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5. Vegan Asparagus Soup