In It App-ened One Night, Susan makes a butternut squash soup for her mom. It’s a soup I love to make in the fall and winter because the veggies are in season and usually on sale and it is vegan and a good choice for any diet. Plus you can add cheese or a protein to the finished soup.

I’m putting the recipe in the back of my book. This isn’t traditionally done in romance books. Those of you who read cozy mysteries know many of the books include recipes. I’d like to include a recipe in the back of each of my romances going forward. I’m all about embracing coziness as my author brand. Is there anything better than enjoying a cozy day? And now on to the recipe:

Butternut-Leek Soup

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash peeled and diced. Or one bag frozen or one container precut fresh.

Slice two leeks, just the white and a little of the light green portion.

Peel and dice one potato or sweet potato 

Peel and slice one parsnip. (optional, this is my secret ingredient)

4-5 cups of vegetable or chicken (if you don’t need it to be vegetarian) broth 

a tbsp of dried poultry seasoning or thyme

or 1-2 tbsps fresh rosemary and thyme

Salt and pepper to taste.

Put it all in a slow cooker on low and cook for 6-8 hours or until the vegetables are soft. Then use an immersion blender to puree the soup. Serve with gruyere or Swiss cheese grated on top or add a couple of tbsps of diced ham or crumbled bacon. This soup pairs very well with a nice crusty bread. I would pair it with a Reisling or glass of Chardonnay. The leftovers taste great and this soup freezes well. If you try it let me know!