Photos by Mikaela Bisson
Once the Halloween dust settles, but before the cheer of Christmas is in the air, comes every college student’s favorite time of year.
No, I’m not referring to Thanksgiving break or finals week.
I’m talking about Flu season. The time of year that leaves everyone sniffling and coughing while simultaneously glaring at the person in their class who keeps sniffling and coughing.
It’s the time when Vitamin Barn has a line out the door for their wellness shots and immunity teas.
A time when Starbucks can’t seem to make enough venti extra hot medicine ball teas.
After suffering from what I referred to (quite frequently and always dramatically) as the plague, something most others refer to as the common cold, I decided to switch up this week’s article.
Instead of recreating a meal from around Malibu, I am going to teach you one of my family’s go-to soups for when you’re sick.
There’s nothing worse than being sick in bed and having to think about somehow forcing some nutrition into your body. When you have no energy and no appetite, that is where this soup comes in.
For the perfect butternut squash soup, that’s ready in an hour, all you need is:
– 2 large squash or yams
– 3 to 6 (or more if you’re really trying to fight a bug) cloves of garlic
– An entire red onion
– One box of vegetable broth
– Olive oil
– Salt and pepper to taste
1. Set the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Slice up the squash and place it on a baking sheet.
3. Slice up the onion into fairly big pieces, about 1 inch wide, and place on the baking sheet.
4. Put the garlic on the baking sheet.
5. Drizzle olive oil over the sheet until all the pieces of squash and onion look covered. Feel free to take a wooden spoon and mix the squash around in the oil to ensure everything is covered.
6. Cook for 40 minutes. Remove when everything is browned.
7. Place all of the contents from the baking sheet into the blender.
8. Pour in two cups of vegetable broth.
9. Blend until it reaches your desired consistency. This may require you to add additional broth.
10. Serve and eat!
The squash should stay hot enough from the oven that you won’t need to reheat it. However, if you’re like me and love your soup piping hot, throw it in the microwave for a couple of minutes to make it even hotter.
Feel free to top your soup with anything you like! Depending on my mood, I might top it with everything from crumbled goat or feta cheese, to roasted pine nuts and coriander. Butternut squash soup is a staple fall item that will make anyone feel at home.
So, if you’re sick in bed and can’t bear the thought of having to stand up and cook yourself a meal, here is the perfect option! It’s the right amount of fall flavors, hometown holiday vibes and minimal effort.
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