Eat It, People

A couple of years ago I was in a food co-op called Staff of Life in Santa Cruz, California (Oh, Staff of Life, how I miss THEE!) and I stumbled upon their butternut squash & coconut milk soup and I thought I had discovered THE NECTAR of the gods! I went back there hoping and hoping I'd find it at their soup stand again, but alas it was never meant to be.

Hoping to recreate it, I researched recipes, but they all seemed so INVOLVED and totally FATTENING. They all used copious amounts of cream, which hey, that's totally awesome, ( I normally don't turn down cream),but the coconut milk seemed like enough fat for one day, and I was searching for something a little less guilt ridden and simple.

Finally, last weekend I gave up and decided to try and make my own. Using Mollie Katzan's Moosewood Curried Squash and Mushroom soup recipe as a model, I tinkered with it and came up with this recipe--and HOLY MOLY, it is DECADENT. It's like a dessert. It's also totally vegan and YUMMY to boot. If you're a meat eater, but want to welcome your vegetarian and vegan friends int your home without serving them just CARROT STICKS, this is the soup for you. It's also th soup for you if you like...FOOD.

Eat it, people. I mean that in the nicest way--you will THANK ME.