Apple Butternut Squash Soup - Marcella

Recently we got dinner at the salad bar at Ellwood Thompson's (1/2 off after 8:30 p.m.) and decided to try some of the vegan mashed sweet potato. It was disappointingly gross, having been drenched in margarine and sugar - so unnecessary. You can cube a butternut squash up and roast it on a baking tray in the oven (at around 350 degrees) with absolutely nothing on it and it's plenty sweet and buttery.

I resorted to that quick side dish, instead of the soup I was planning on making, on a Saturday evening because our weekly guild (Maul Rats) raid on The Trial of the Crusader was about to start and I just didn't have time to be messing around with soup. Thank goodness I made that difficult choice - an über caster dps belt dropped. Enough with the gibberish; the point I'm trying to make here is that butternut squash is both delicious on it's own and in the soup posted below.

Apple Butternut Squash Soup
Ridiculously fast and easy

• 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed, cubed
• 1 apple, diced
• 1 tsp olive oil
  
• 1 tsp ginger paste or 1 Tbsp minced ginger
• approx. 3 cups water - add or reduce as necessary
• 1 tsp veg broth powder or 1 cube bouillon
• teeny bit of salt if none is in the broth powder
• pepper to taste
  
• fresh rosemary (optional)

1. In a stockpot, heat olive oil. Add everything but the rosemary and simmer until squash is pierced easily with a knife, about 20-30 minutes.
   
2. Blend with an immersion blender, or in batches in a regular blender. Add rosemary and simmer another 5 minutes.
3. That's it!