Caitlyn's Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Cut a butternut squash in half (microwave for 2 minutes to make cutting it easier and cooking it faster) and lay it face down on a parchmont-paper covered baking sheet. Cook at 400 and 40 minutes or until tender.

Meanwhile, cook 2/3 cup barley. If you used hulled barley, saute it in olive oil before adding the cooking water. If you use pearl barley, you can just boil it in water until tender.

Once you have the barley and squash going, cut up 1/2 a big onion, 2 cloves garlic, 2 stalks celery, and 3 carrots. Saute until the onion is tender. Add garam masala, tumeric, coriander, cumin, chili pepper, and any other curry spices you like. Use a total of about 1 heaping tablespoon of spices. Add 4 cups broth and cook until all the veggies are tender.

Once the squash is done, scoop out the flesh and add it to the soup. Don't add the barley yet. Ladle out about half of the soup and blend it. Put the blended soup back in the pot with the rest of the soup. Stir in the tender barley, and serve.