<h3>Thanksgiving Curried Butternut Squash & Apple Soup (<i>gluten free, dairy free</i>)</h3>

Are you wondering why I thought to feature gluten free recipes that include curry in my Gluten Free Thanksgiving menu? You see, the thing is, I'm crazy about curry. The smell, the taste, the color. And when I combined the yellow of curry with the orange of butternut squash, the hybrid dazzled my eye not to mention my taste buds. Add just a few more ingredients and I offer you a soup worthy of any gluten free Thanksgiving spread.

Our gluten free Thanksgiving celebration this year will be a traveling feast, and you know what that means for those of us who are strictly gluten free. Lots of cooking and baking and transporting of food to another destination. No, this gluten free girl is not complaining. I really don't mind. I love the actual food prep and I'd do it whether we ate home or not. I just have to figure out how to get the food from point A to point B. No biggie.

I don't have our entire gluten free Thanksgiving menu planned yet. But I know this for sure. We'll be having Curried Butternut Apple Soup (see recipe below) which is a lovely blend of a similar soup I've been making since as long as I can remember (I think it was the beginning of my love affair with curry!), a recipe from the delightful Gluten Free Spinner's blog, and an earlier Thai recipe I blogged about, not to mention my obsession with Thai Kitchen's Red Curry Paste (I buy it by the boatload!). My original Curried Butternut Apple soup recipe used curry as the heat generator. GF Spinner also used curry AND she raised the heat further by adding red curry paste - and since I have enough jars of it to float a battleship, I borrowed her idea and added it to my recipe. Anytime I can combine coconut milk and red curry paste, I'm a happy cook - as you can see featured in my recipe for Thai Tofu Red Curry With Vegetables. GF Spinner also uses Sriracha Sauce, some Asian seasoning, and heavy cream, but since I'm not really supposed to eat hot, spicy foods and I elect not to eat dairy, I omitted those ingredients. BTW, GF Spinner's recipe calls for making the soup in a crockpot - though I cook it on the stovetop,  using a slowcooker can be a great timesaver, considering all the Thanksgiving cooking you might be doing.

And how can I forget rolls? You know the kind I mean. The rolls that are a throwback to those poppin' fresh rolls we all used to have as a kid. Or maybe I'll make my newest recipe for biscuits. Or if I have time, I might make the bread pictured below. It's Ginger Lemon Girl's Vegan Bread. Crusty, crunchy, soft on the inside, with great dipping potential. Oh dear, such a dilemna! Also thinking about my Roasted Potato Slices with Smoky Aioli Dip - it's like a gourmet version of potato chips and onion dip, but better. And for the turkey, I'm going to make it in the crockpot. It's falling-off-the-bone delicious and couldn't be simpler. For cranberry sauce, I think I will stick with my quasi Indian-inspired recipes and make Cranberry-Mango Salsa. For salad, I'm thinking about doing something with arugula and sliced pears and pomegranate seeds and a homemade balsamic dressing. Pie, yet to be determined. Maybe this Apple Pie. Hmmm, perhaps I have more of my gluten free Thanksgiving menu planned that I thought??!!!

Curried Butternut Squash and Apple Soup
serves 4 - 6
click here for printable recipe

1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tsp curry powder
4 cups chopped butternut squash
1 granny smith apple, peeled and cored and chopped
2 cups vegetable stock
1 can lite coconut milk
2 tbsp agave syrup
1 tbsp wheat-free tamari
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 - 2 tsp red curry paste, optional

Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, and curry powder. Cook for 10 minutes or until the onions are tender, stirring occasionally.

Add the squash, apple, and vegetable stock. Bring to a simmer and cook until the squash can be mashed with the back of a fork. This will take 30 - 45 minutes.

Add the rest of the ingredients. Blend with an immersion blender until smooth and creamy. Bring the soup to a boil, then simmer until ready to serve.

This post is linked to Gluten-Free Wednesdays, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, and Real Food Wednesday.