Spiced Pumpkin and Honeynut Squash Bisque

• 6 medium honeynut squash (peeled/seeded/diced)(about 5 cups)
• 1 small pumpkin (cut in half)                    
• 3 each granny smith apples (cored/diced)
• 1 yellow onion (peeled/ diced)
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 1 tablespoons of pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 4 cups of heavy cream
• Kosher salt as needed (about 1 tablespoon)
• 2-3 cups of water
• The juice of ½ a lemon

1. Preheat your oven to 400 F. Oil or spray a sheet tray. Cut the pumpkin in half, right down the center of the stem and place each half seeds-side down on the sheet tray.
2. Bake at 400 F for about 40 minutes until the pumpkin becomes soft to the touch.
3. While the pumpkin is roasting, peel the honeynut squash, and then remove the seeds by cutting the base in half and scooping the seeds out with a spoon. Proceed to dice each squash into a large dice. Once diced, put all the squash into a bowl and set aside.
4. After cutting the squash, dice the apples and onions and set aside.
5. Once the pumpkin is roasted completely, remove the sheet tray from the oven, let it cool briefly, then scoop out the seeds and peel the skin off each half of the pumpkin. Cut the roasted pumpkin into medium-to-small dice.
6. Once everything is cut, put a large heavy bottomed pot on the stove and heat on high heat. Once the pot is hot, add about 2 tablespoons of cooking oil and sauté the cut honeynut squash over medium high heat for 5 to 6 minutes. Add about ½ teaspoon of salt to season the squash.
7. After the squash starts to become slightly golden in color (5-6 minutes), Add the apples and onions, followed by another ½ teaspoon of salt, and turn the heat down to medium-low, and cook everything for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
8. After the 3-4 minutes, add the diced pumpkin, followed by a few pinches of salt.
9. Mix everything together, then add the pumpkin spice and ground cinnamon. Mix everything so that all the vegetables are coated with spices and turn the heat down to low and continue to cook the vegetables on a low heat, toasting the spices, for about 2 minutes.
10. Add the brown sugar and continue to cook for another 2 minutes.
11. Once the sugar starts to bubble and form a syrupy consistency, add the heavy cream to the pot and then add enough water to cover all of the vegetables by 2 inches (about 2 cups). Turn the heat to a medium-low heat and bring the soup to a simmer.
12. Once the soup starts to simmer, adjust the heat so that it is a nice and steady low simmer, and cook for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until all of the squash and apples are soft in texture.
13. When everything is cooked, puree the soup, carefully, in your blender until it is smooth, in small batches. You may need to add more water to easily blend the soup.
14. Once all of the soup is blended, Add the lemon juice and season the soup to your liking with salt, brown sugar, and more lemon juice, if necessary.

**This soup will keep in the refrigerator for 7 to 10 days.