Apricot Squash Soup and Grilled Provalone

Welcome to Fall! I love harvest season, it is my positively favorite of all, so many wonderful things from the garden to choose from. Unfortunately, my garden this year was unyeilding due to drought, but that doesn't mean everybodies was!

I love this soup in the fall. I love to buy several large squashes and make a big vat of it to freeze and eat for lunch on a cool and cloudy autumn day with a grilled provalone cheese sandwich.

This recipe will use 1 large apricot squash and serve two people. I do want to warn you that this soup is extremely rich and sweet, you will want the saltiness of the sandwich to go with it.

If you'd prefer fully vegan soup, simply replace the butter with your substitute and replace the milk with vegetable broth.

1 large apricot squash, halved, deseeded and roasted for 1 hour.
2 tbs. salted butter, softened
1/3 cup brown sugar (adjust the sugar to your taste, depending also on the size of your squash)
1 cup skim milk (approximately)
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. fresh, finely grated ginger root (or 1/4 tsp. powder)

After your squash has roasted and cooled, use a metal spoon to scoop it out of the peel and plop it into a blender. Add the butter and sugar, pulse until combined, slowly adding in the milk until you reach the thickness that you want. Add in the salt, cloves and ginger, adjusting for your tastes. Place the soup into a saucepan and warm until steaming.

The sandwich is your basic grilled cheese, but it's best to use a vienna style bread, or a bread that is nice and light, with the provalone (swiss might also do) and if you can, use real butter over margarine.