Apple and Pumpkin Soup for One

The days are turning chilly and so for Day 4 of Apple Week, it’s time for some nice soup. Bake some crusty bread (like Garlic Buns for One or Fluffy Biscuit for One, or even Naan for One) and dine like the royalty you know you are.

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

½ a medium sugar pumpkin or butternut squash, de-seeded

½ of an apple

¼ of a medium yellow onion

1 TBLSP olive oil

Salt and pepper

1 clove of garlic

3-5 TBLSP almond milk (or the non-dairy milk of your preference)

¼ teaspoon freshly grated ginger

A pinch of ground cardamom

Salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Oil a baking sheet.

1. Slather a little olive oil and salt and pepper on the cut side of the pumpkin or squash. Roast it cut-side-up on the prepared baking sheet for 20 minutes. Turn it on its tummy and roast for another 20-30 minutes, until the flesh is soft when you poke it with a fork. 
2. While the squash roasts on its back, slice the apple and onion into wedges and arrange them on the same baking sheet when you flip the squash to its tummy. (So the apple and onion will roast for the last 20 minutes.) 
3. For the last 10 minutes of roasting time, toss the garlic in there too. You can peel it later, if you want, but I like to peel it first.
4. When they’re all cooked and cooled enough to handle, scrape the pumpkin or squash meat into a blender or food processor. Add the apple, onion, garlic (skinless, please), milk, ginger, cardamom, and salt. Puree until smooth. If it’s too thick, add water or more milk. I like mine fairly thick.
5. Reheat it in a saucepan on the stove.

Variations:

• Try it with coconut milk and coconut oil instead of the nut milk and olive oil.