Sweet Potato Harvest Soup

The weekend before Thanksgiving, my parents, Adam, and I all made the trip to Virginia to celebrate with my sister and her fiance, Hugh. While we were there, we made a full Thanksgiving feast -- Mom made dressing, Elizabeth made mac and cheese, Hugh grilled a bird -- the whole nine yards. So by the time Thanksgiving Day rolled around and I was back in Athens, I was still in a thankful mood, but you know... not enough to go all out on Thanksgiving dinner part 2. Butternut squash soup. That's fallish, right? Good enough.

Full of holiday spirit but completely lacking holiday foresight, I went to Kroger on Thanksgiving morning... Not a single butternut squash left in the store. Probably the one day a year they're sold out of those, because let's be honest -- butternut squash is more autumnal decoration than food. Have you ever tried to peel and cut one??  Impossible. Then the jokers on Pinterest try to tell you how easy it is to roast it first then scoop out the inside. Lies! Not easy, plus the impatient among us could easily burn our fingers off trying to scoop the good stuff out of that crazy gourd. Sometimes we should thank God for unanswered prayers and unstocked produce shelves.

In the end, I improvised with sweet potatoes instead. They're easy to come by all year and pretty much better in every way. If the recipe below seems a little first-thought, that's because it was, but it's seriously so, so good! I'm sure you could jazz it up with some warming spices, but the sweet potato, onion, green apple, and coconut milk are a lovely combination of savory, sweet, and creamy even with no embellishment. To make it look much fancier than it really is, garnish with a little reserved coconut milk, toasted pumpkin seeds, red pepper flakes, and balsamic reduction. Yummy enough for a low-key Thanksgiving Day but easy enough to eat any time.