Velvety Butternut Squash Soup and Grandma's Biscuits

(really poorly lit photos courtesy of daylight savings time, since we don't eat dinner at 2 in the afternoon)

Christmas music came on by accident in our house this morning.
I'm serious. It was completely unintentional. I was innocently listening to a Nat King Cole Greatest Hits album on Spotify, and The Christmas Song came on (you know: "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire..."). Which, as we all know, is the ultimate Christmas song, especially when sung by Nat.
It instantly brightened my mood and I knew that, although it really isn't legal yet, I must start listening to Christmas music. After a full album of Nat's Christmas songs, James and I indulged in the instrumental version of Charlie Brown Christmas (instrumental Christmas music before Thanksgiving is only half cheating). Can I just say, it warms the heart, like soup on a cold rainy day...

Which brings me -really stretching the segue here- to dinner last night...

This soup can be made with a rosemary and garlic infused olive oil* which my mother-in-law makes and let me borrow a little (must return the jar so she will replenish my supply as a stocking stuffer), or you can add the garlic and rosemary to the veggies while they roast. I did both just to be on the safe side.

The biscuits are my Grandma Rose's recipe. I can remember "helping" her make them numerous times in her cozy kitchen when I was young. I have made a couple adjustments to make them a little more nutritious, but they are still crunchy on the outside and soft and flaky on the inside, the perfect accompaniment to soup.
* to make garlic infused olive oil: fill about an 8 oz bottle with 2 peeled cloves of garlic and 4 sprigs rosemary, fill the bottle the rest of the way with olive oil

Velvety Butternut Squash Soup
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeds scooped out, and cut into 1" cubes
1 yellow onion, cut in half, then cut into four parts per half, layers separated
1/4 cup of rosemary-garlic infused olive oil or 1/4 cup olive oil and:
1 clove garlic and 4 sprigs rosemary
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 tsp (25 grinds on the mill) freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp salt

If not using the infused oil, peel the garlic clove and cut in half, rub the cut half over a rimmed baking sheet and discard the garlic. Put butternut squash and onion on the baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil. Toss the veggies in the oil and evenly distribute on the baking sheet. If you are not using the infused oil, put the sprigs of rosemary around the baking sheet. Bake the veggies at 425 degrees for 20 minutes, then toss and bake another 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven, discard rosemary, and puree in a blender or food processor until creamy. Add broth, salt, and pepper and puree until smooth.

Grandma's Biscuits
2 cups whole wheat flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp applesauce
1/4 cup canola, olive, or safflower oil
2/3 cup reduced fat milk
canola cooking spray

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry, mix until just combined, do not over mix. Drop heaping spoonfuls on greased baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees for 12 minutes.
Serve with Butternut Squash Soup. Enjoy.

P.S. I made whole wheat bagels using this recipe, and substituting whole wheat bread flour for white bread flour. They were surprisingly easy and, although not pretty, very delicious.