A souper visit.

Tonight I am making a pot of Aunt Peggy's Curried Butternut Squash Soup. The blend of squash, apples and curry make this one of my all time favorites and I feel like Aunt Peggy is in the kitchen with me when I make it.

Aunt Peggy and I correspond by letter a few times a month. She lives in New Jersey and has an incredible life filled with faith, service projects, book clubs, friends, family, and cooking. I love writing to her. I share tidbits about daily life here in South Carolina, what books I am reading, and I ask questions about how she met some of the same kinds of challenges I face as a mother and wife. Actually, in many ways, she is a mentor to me. I admire her poise, knowledge, passion and love for her family. When I grow up, I want to be like Aunt Peggy (or at least maybe close to it!).

Anyhow, today we went to Charlotte to see our cousins and Aunt Peggy. The kids played with Jennifer and Steven and the ladies lunched. We walked up the street and bought baked goods from kids selling them to raise money for Haiti. Aunt Peggy and I escaped to Trader Joe's to buy rice milk and spelt bread for Wesley while Nancy supervised the kids. I left feeling connected to the comfort and ease of family. It was one of those visits that was so nice that I forgot to take my camera out of the van to capture it on film.

I always wish that we spent more time and lived closer to each other. However, I'm happy to have the visits we do have whenever they come along. In the meantime I have her soup and her letters.

Aunt Peggy's Curried Butternut Squash Soup

4 TBS butter
2 cups finely chopped yellow onions
5 tsp curry powder
2 med. butternut squash (3lbs.)
2 apples peeled, diced, and cored
3 cups of chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
1 cup apple juice
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in pot. Add chopped onions and curry powder. Cook, covered over low heat for about 25 minutes until onions are tender. Peel and dice squash (or use pre-cut frozen squash). when onions are tender, pour in the broth, add the squash and apples, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer partially covered until squash and apples are very tender. At this point use an immersion blender (or transfer to a blender in batches) to puree the soup. Return to the pot and add the apple juice until soup is of desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper and heat thoroughly. Freezes well. I also like it with a scoop of sour cream or crumbled feta on top.