Acorn Squash Stew

It's Fall and the stores are full of all sorts of pumpkin-type vegetables.  I picked up an acorn squash at Trader Joe's the other day with high hopes of actually making something with it if I had time.  Tonight Baby went to sleep early, so I got to have some precious time in the kitchen to cook again!  I think I'm averaging about one meal every two weeks.  (Don't ask what we eat the rest of the time... pretty much every vegetarian boxed meal from the frozen section at Trader Joe's.)

Anyway, I decided I wanted soup.  I've been itching to make a hearty soup from scratch.

This is what I did:

Ingredients
1 acorn squash
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
1-2 carrots, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 400.

Cut acorn squash in half lengthwise.  Place face down in a casserole dish and roast in oven for 45 minutes.  Let cool and scoop out large chunks, then cut into smaller chunks.  Set aside.

In a large stock pot, heat oil.  Cook onion, celery carrot, garlic, and ginger in oil until softened, about 5-7 minutes.

Add broth and water, bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer. 

Add squash chunks, beans, cumin, salt and pepper.

Let simmer for about 20 minutes.

Blend and serve.

I like my soups to be a bit chunky, so I only blended half of this soup and then mixed it with the non-blended portion.  Perfect!

This is a great stew for a cool fall evening; and yes it does get chilly here in San Diego county at night.