Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup

(Thanks to my friend in Clarinda, for this recipe!)

I had never cooked a butternut squash before, so I was a little scared to try this recipe. There are many things that will scare me away from cooking. One is an ingredients list with things I have never heard of. Some ingredients can only be purchased on Mars, I think ~ I've never seen them in a Kansas City grocery store. But I thought I could handle Butternut Squash. I've cooked with butter, and I'm a little nuts, and I enjoy squashing things.

Another thing that causes me to give up before I've started is when it tells you to do extra things that you don't really need to do. This recipe said to peel and de-seed the butternut squash. Well, for one thing, I keep reading that peels and seeds are actually very healthy for you. And when I looked on the internet for "how to peel a butternut squash," I got a lot of web pages telling me it is tricky! Even trickier, because I don't have a vegetable peeler, or even a very sharp knife. So I decided to cook this recipe, peels and seeds and all. It turned out great! So don't make it harder than it is ~ defy authority ~ eat the peels.

[LATER EDITED TO ADD ~ Ok, the first time I made this soup, I didn't bother to remove the squash seeds, and they turned out to be tender- no problem. But the second time I made the soup, the seeds did not soften up, and I had to remove them from my mouth as I was eating the soup. Very annoying. So I recommend scooping out the seeds, but cooking the peels. You still get the yummy pumpkin seed goodness, so you won't miss anything!]

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 leek, finely sliced
1 garlic clove, peeled & chopped. (I used about 5 garlic cloves. I like garlic.)

Saute the leeks and garlic in the oil for a few minutes, in the soup pot. Then add 6 cups of water and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, be chopping the following goodies: (If you are like me, and don't have sharp knives, put the potato & squash in the microwave to soften them up a little, to make them easier to chop.)

1 sweet potato
1 butternut squash
2 carrots (or a bunch of baby carrots)

Put the chopped goodies into the boiling pot, along with

3 vegetable or chicken stock (bouillon) cubes

Bring it back to a boil, lower the heat, cover, and simmer 30-45 minutes or until the veggies are tender.

Add

1/4 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon curry powder
2 large fresh sage leaves, finely minced

Cook another 5 minutes, uncovered. Use a potato masher to mash it up while you are cooking it.

Garnish with pumpkin seeds. Yum!