For those of you affected by Hurricane Sandy our deepest condolences go out to you. I was in the area as well but only lost power for 3 days. 

The soup in the following article is one I like to make for the fall season, and can be made in times of power outages as all of the ingredients are shelf stable and can provide a nutritious meal.

1 Medium size butternut squash 1-2 lbs.

1 cup Pumpkin ale

1 cup Apple Cider or Apple Juice

½ cup Evaporated Milk or Coconut Milk

½ Onion, diced

1 Apple, diced

1/2 tsp. Pumpkin Spice blend

Start by heating 2 Tbls. of oil in a large sauce pan.  Dice the onions and apples and add to the pan.  Sauté the apples and onions for 7-10 mins. over medium heat until caramelized.

While the onions and apples are sautéing prepare the squash by peeling the skin off.

After you peel the squash cut the “neck” of the squash off and cut the bulb in half and scoop out the seeds. 

Once the seeds are scooped out dice the squash into bite size pieces and add to pan with apples and onions.

After the squash is added to the pot stir in the beer and apple cider.

Let the pot simmer for 20 mins. or until the squash is tender. Remove the pot from the heat and add the milk.

After adding the milk you can use a potato masher of hand mixer to smooth out the soup into a creamy mixture.

The finished product is a nutritious and vitamin packed meal and is also vegetarian. If you want a little more flavor out of the soup try adding a chicken bouillon cube or 2 to add a slightly different flavor.  This meal is perfect for a family of four with little to no leftovers to refrigerate which makes it perfect when the power is out.  Finish by garnishing the top of the soup with diced apple and drizzle with some pumpkin oil or toasted pumpkin seeds.