Spicy soup and a BLT

 It was a bit soggy when I went for my walk this morning and it got me thinking about soup. I love to have a pan of soup simmering away on the stove at this time of year.  Today's foodie offering is a huge pan of spicy butternut squash and veggie soup.  The squash are such good value for money as you don't need to peel them and you can keep the seeds to grow your own plants next year. But first take a look at my gorgeous breakfast BLT. I prefer to spread the bread for a BLT with tomato puree rather than butter or marg... we don't do dry bread here in Kemp Castle. The lettuce was picked from the garden and I added a couple of Basil leaves from the pot on my kitchen windowsill. The tomatoes were picked from the garden  a couple of weeks ago.

Enjoy

To make the spicy butternut squash soup put about 150g of lentils in a jug of water and put to one side. 

I finely chopped a medium sized onion. four sticks of celery and two plump cloves of garlic. Pop them into a large saucepan and barely cover with water.  Bring to the boil and then turn it down to a simmer while you prep the butternut squash. Wash the squash and then cut it in half and remove the seeds. Cut the chunky stalk bit off the end and put it in your compost bin. You don't need to peel the squash. Chop it up into chunks and then pop it into the pan with the other veg. Add a vegetable stock pot or cube and about three quarters of a litre of water.  Add plenty of salt and pepper and any spices that you might fancy. We like chilli, paprika, turmeric and cumin. Give the lentils a good rinse and add them to the pan. Give it all a good stir and bring up to the boil.  Immediately turn it down and simmer for about 45 minutes. Stir it occasionally to make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. Leave it longer if you like or pop it into a slow cooker and let it cook all day. 

When all the veggies are cooked and soft I like to whizz it smooth with my stick blender but you could use a potato masher . Adjust the seasoning to taste and serve with crusty bread. It's even nicer the next day and I have made mine for tomorrow and Saturday. There's absolutely stacks for six people and it didn't cost an arm and a leg.  I have in the past added potatoes and carrots and it's a great winter warming filler.   It's quite a sweet tasting soup and completely vegan. If you prefer you can use chicken or beef stock cubes.  If you are skint you can make it go even further if you mix up another pint of stock and add it to the pan. It freezes well too.