Two years ago, I was invited to a weekend retreat by the lovely folks at OnStar.

There I met and got to know a handful of incredible bloggers: Megan Francis of The Happiest Mom, Vera Sweeny of Lady & the Blog, Audrey McClelland of Mom Generations, and Melissa Chapman of Married My Sugar Daddy, women I still follow to this day and feel lucky have befriended.

Part of our weekend adventures included a cooking class with chef Louisa Shafia, author of Lucid Food: Cooking for an Eco-Conscious Life.

I still remember the menu we collectively whipped up well – it was delicious from start to finish. But one item in particular was an absolute knockout: the creamy red kuri squash soup. In fact, I loved it so much, I made it part of my family’s fall recipe repertoire. It’s so rich and delicious, it’s hard to believe that there is absolutely zero cream in it.

My boys lick their bowls whenever I serve it. I think it must be the cinnamon. But I don’t want to analyze too much lest they figure out they’re inhaling something that’s good for them.

I whipped up a batch right before Hurricane Sandy knocked our power out 12 days ago and vowed to share it with all of you once I came back online. So, without further ado – here it is.

Now run, don’t walk, to your kitchens to make it! And just in case you’re wondering, there are lots of other delicious recipes in Lucid Food that I love too. In my opinion, it’s a cookbook worth investing in.

Ingredients

1 kuri squash (2-3 pounds), seeds and skin removed, diced
1 quart vegetable stock
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
1 sweet apple, cored and sliced
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1-2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Makes enough soup for 3 hungry boys and 1 hungry mama (probably would serve 6)

Instructions

Place the squash in a soup pot with the stock and a dash of salt and bring to a boil on medium high heat. Simmer, covered, until tender, about 15 minutes.

Drain the squash, reserving all the stock. (I just usually take the squash out of the pot and place it in a bowl, leaving all the stock in a big pot).

Using a skillet (or if you’ve drained the squash & stock into another container, the same pot), over high heat add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add onion and saute until it begins to brown, about 10-15 minutes.

Add the apple, cinnamon, cayenne, and a dash of salt and saute until the apples are soft and lightly browned, about 5-8 minutes.

This is what the soup looks like before you puree it.

In batches, if necessary, combine the squash, onion, apple, and stock in a blender, or use a hand-held stick blender. Puree until smooth, adding the remaining tablespoon of olive oil as it blends (I usually don’t bother with this extra tablespoon – and I never miss it when I do). Add a little extra stock or water if the soup is too thick.

Taste and season with salt. Serve hot with a few grinds of black pepper.

And this is the soup once you’re done pureeing. Blink once and it’s gone! (Apologies for the blurry snapshots – I had a 3YO hanging on my arm)