Happy Christmas Eve! It’s one of the most wonderful weeks of the year for many, and it often includes lots of delicious and festive food. Last weekend, as I watched the snow fall out our kitchen windows, I pulled together a silky, simple soup that would make a great Christmas side dish. It’s one of those make-to-taste types of soups where adding your favorite ingredients just makes it better. 
Mine started with roasted butternut squash; I love how roasting brings out the flavors! Once the butternut squash was roasted, I set it aside and prepared my Granny Smith apple and onions, which I sautéed together in a little olive oil.
I love the tart/sweet flavors imparted by a Granny Smith in the soup! To mix in even more flavor, I added a few generous shakes of Hot Madras Curry Powder. You know I love my curry!
When the onion and apple were soft, I added in the butternut squash and enough chicken stock to cover everything, allowing it to bubble for a little before I tossed everything in the blender to blend until smooth and creamy. The final touch for the soup this time was a splash of cream. However, the soup is great and creamy without, if you wanted it healthier. Just sub veggie broth and leave out the cream to make it vegan. The flavor in this soup definitely comes from everything but the cream!
I ended up enjoying this soup reflecting on the past year and all of its blessings and challenges. I am long overdue on a post, but our new home definitely captures blessing and challenge in one place, on a daily basis! We absolutely love it, but it also always seems like there’s something to do!
Still, it’s a great place to cozy up; I can’t stop looking out the windows, where we have so much more open space than we are used to. Though I am not a fan of snow, I can’t help but marvel a little at the Winter Wonderland around us.
And getting up in the morning is a little easier with this view. It’s made me stop each day to be thankful that I get to see another sunrise, even when I am groggy and the last thing I want to do is run through a full day again. 
I am spending tonight as I spend every Christmas Eve, with my family at my uncle’s house; I can’t imagine doing it differently. It is definitely one of those blessings I count on every year and am so grateful for.
Whether you are celebrating Christmas or not, I wish you a day that is warm and full of love and blessings that continue year-round. Merry Christmas!
