Spicy Butternut Squash Soup with Apricot Rosemary Popcorn Boats

Ahhh... October. The beginning of Fall. Oktoberfest. Pumpkin beer. Hearty soups. This brings me to my most recent recipe. I've got to thank Isa for putting together this Vegan Chopped challenge, and keeping me posting recipes on here. As soon as I heard butternut squash, all I could think of was soup. I love a smooth, rich and creamy soup. Enough talking though, I know I can't wait to tell you my recipe and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Spicy Butternut Squash Soup

1 butternut squash - peeled and cubed
1 white onion - chopped
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary - chopped
1 Tbsp fresh ginger - minced
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup water
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp margarine
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp tumeric
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 cup coconut milk

My favorite part of this is how easy it is. In a large pot throw the squash, broth and water. Set to medium heat and cover. In a frying pan add the oil and melt the margarine. Once the margarine melts, add the onion, ginger and rosemary. Saute the onions until they're translucent and dump the contents of the entire frying pan into the squash pot. Add the rest of the spices, stir and cover. Allow to simmer for about 20-30 minutes and remove from heat. Pour everything into your blender. Don't leave anything behind, not even that little hard to retrieve bit of ginger. You want every ounce of flavor available. Add the coconut milk and blend until smooth. Return to the pot and heat your soup for a couple minutes to allow flavors to blend and you're ready to go.

Apricot Rosemary Popcorn Boats

5 cups popped popcorn
3 Tbsp apricot preserves
2 Tbsp margarine
1 Tbsp light corn syrup
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary - ground
pinch of salt

To start I'd like to describe my ground rosemary. I like to use an old coffee grinder to grind my fresh spices. They sell specific spice grinders but I think my $10 coffee grinder does a great job. But I digress... In a medium pot heat the margarine, preserves, rosemary, and salt. Heat the mixture until the preserves are fully melted and the liquid starts to bubble. Be very careful not to burn the mixture, don't walk away, don't try and do something else, this takes about 5-10 minutes. You can spare the time. Once the mixture starts to bubble remove it from heat and add the popcorn. Stir until the popcorn is well coated. Put the mixture into a small greased baking pan and place in the refrigerator to firm up for at least an hour. Once the mixture has set up, cut into squares to garnish your soup.