My Spiced Butternut, Red Pepper And Carrot Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

24 ounces peeled and cubed raw butternut squash (weighed after peeling)
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into strips
3 small carrots, sliced
1 medium stalk zucchini, peeled and thickly sliced
1 -2 tablespoon oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 -3 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups chicken broth (I use organic low-sodium)
1 -2 teaspoon cumin (or to taste)
1 -2 teaspoon sweet Hungarian paprika (or to taste)
almond milk (I use Almond Breeze original)
fresh ground pepper
salt
2 -4 teaspoons red wine vinegar (optional)
cayenne pepper (optional)

Preparation

1.\tIf you are using a fresh butternut squash, cut it in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Peel it and cut it into 1-inch chunks.
2.\tHeat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and red pepper. Cook until it softens, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about 3 minutes. Regulate the heat and do not let the vegetables brown.
3.\tWhile the onions are cooking, peel and cube the zucchini.
4.\tAdd the cubed squash, carrots, zucchini and broth and bring to a boil. Lower heat and cook at a gentle boil until the squash is fork-tender, about 25 minutes (but this depends on the size of your veggie cubes).
5.\tPuree the soup in several stages in a blender. For safety's sake, since the soup is hot, do not fill the jar more than about 1/4 full each time, and blend on a low speed, covering the lid with an oven mitt. The soup should be completely smooth and a little thicker than heavy cream.
6.\tRinse your soup pot to remove any small chunks of food and strain it if you like (I do not strain).
7.\tHeat the soup through again and season to taste with cumin, paprika, pepper and salt.
8.\tAdd the vinegar and/or cayenne pepper, if desired.
9.\tAdd some almond milk, a little at a time, to give soup a creamier consistency. (Instead of almond milk or Almond Breeze, you could probably use soy or rice milk or half and half).
10.\tThis soup tastes fine when it has been reheated. The soup will thicken as it chills, so you may want to add extra spice right at the start, if you know you will be re-heating some later. You will need extra Almond Breeze to thin it out after it has been refrigerated. I have kept it in the fridge for as long as 4 days and it was fine.
11.\tBecause the veggies make the broth very flavorful, you can also use half chicken broth and half water (2 cups of each) with good results.