Creamy Sweet Dumpling Squash & Pear Soup

 A Cooler Taste of Fall!

I just recently moved to the South. As a lifelong Hoosier, all of my Autumns have been spent enjoying cool weather, wool sweaters, hot spiced cider, bonfires, and warm bowls of chili. But, as I have quickly learned, Fall in the south is a little warmer. I've still been enjoying some of my favorite warm Fall dishes, but I wanted to come up with something a little cooler for those warmer South Carolina Fall days. 

That desire resulted in this recipe for a sweet & spicy chilled soup using some classic fall fruits, veggies, & seasonings and topped with a little bacon, of course! This soup has a lot of potential to be a versatile part of your kitchen this fall! Drizzle over your favorite Paleo sweet bread or add a few tablespoons of chia seeds and let it set overnight in the fridge for a delicious breakfast pudding or even add some tapioca starch and honey to make a creamy frosting!

Creamy Sweet Dumpling Squash & Pear Soup

Ingredients:

1 sweet dumpling squash peeled & chopped

3 Bosc pears peeled & chopped
1 can full fat coconut milk
2-3 cans of water (depending on how thick you want the soup to be)
2 vanilla bean pods or 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 Tbs cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves

*Note: You can use cinnamon sticks, however put them in a tea bag. I learned this the hard way.

Directions:

In a medium-large pot pour in milk, water, spices and vanilla. Mix well. Add chopped squash and pears. Heat covered over medium-low until simmering. Let simmer for 45 min, or longer (the longer it simmers the more vanilla flavor it will have). After it is done, if using cinnamon sticks, remove them from the pot. You can also remove the vanilla bean pods if you wish, but I did not. Pour mixture into a blender and puree--do not use a food processor, as it will splatter too much. I learned this the hard way. Have you noticed I have to say that a lot? Place in container and set in the fridge to chill. Soup will thicken as it chills.

Sweet Bacon & Pine Nut Topping

Ingredients:

4 pieces of bacon
handful of pine nuts
1 tsp melted ghee (I prefer OMGhee's brand)
tsp coconut sugar

Directions:

Crispy fry bacon. Toast pine nuts. You can do this on the stove top in a sauce pan over med-low heat or in a 375* oven until they reach a golden color (just a few minutes--keep an eye on them). Crumble bacon into a plastic zip bag, add pine nuts. Drizzle bacon and nuts with melted ghee. Close the bag and shake until everything is coated with ghee. Sprinkle in coconut sugar, close the bag and shake until everything is coated with sugar.

*Note: Coating the bacon and pine nuts with coconut sugar is optional.

Once the soup has chilled, stir it well, pour into 4 bowls, sprinkle with topping and ENJOY!