Off Season Cravings- Curried Butternut Squash soup with Coconut

I am hoping that now that I am no longer working fulltime ( I say this cautiously as I will be taking care of three children, but what I guess I mean is that I won't be working for someone else and taking care of kids and a house at the same time) I will be able to post some new recipes while the new baby sleeps.

I know it is almost spring but have been craving butternut squash soup on a weekly basis.  Decided that since I am pregnant I am allowed to eat foods that are out of season especially when they are good for you.  My husband is not a big fan of curry so at first I didn't really tell him what was in it and he really liked it so when he asked for me to make it again I told him what was in it.  Sometimes we have preconceived notions of what we like or dislike based on past experiences.  I encourage you to try new things especially if they are out of your comfort zone.  In this recipe I used precut squash becasue with working fulltime I found it difficult to find the extra time to peel a whole butternut, but you can use a large butternut squash instead of the two packages.  Let me know what you think of this soup.

Curried Coconut Butternut Squash Soup
Sandra Holbrook

• 2- 22 oz packages of precut butternut squash rinsed
• 1 cup of unsweetened lite coconut milk
• 1/2 inch piece of ginger root peeled
• 1 tsp of curry owder
• 1/4 tsp of tumeric
• dash or two of crushed red pepper optional
• salt to taste

Cook the squash and ginger root in 4-5 inches of water with the lid on so that it gets cooked thoroughly for about 20 minutes.  Drain the  water leaving about 1/2 inch of water with the squash and ginger root in the pot.   Add the remaining ingredients and using an immersion blender puree right in the pot.  Add a small amount of water if you feel the soup is too thick.