Apple Bisque with Chestnuts

Here's a way to take advantage of fresh-from-the-orchard apples. Recommended varieties for this soup included Cortland, Winesap, Granny Smith, McIntosh and York - or any combination thereof! I used 2 Cortland apples.

Heat 1 tablespoon vegan butter (such as Earth Balance) and 2 teaspoons olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add 3 cups chopped onion and 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme; cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add 1 (14-ounce) can of vegetable broth and 3 cups of peeled, cored, and chopped apples of your choice (see above); cover and cook for 30 minutes until the apples are nice and tender.

Add 2 cups water, 1 cup coarsely chopped bottled chestnuts (another great flavor that lets me know it's autumn), 1/4 cup cream sherry, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. black pepper. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook uncovered for 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and let cool about 5 minutes before transferring to a blender; puree until smooth. It's probably easiest to work in two batches, so the blender doesn't get too full.

Return the pureed soup to the pan, and cook over low heat just until heated, about 5 minutes. Ladle 3/4 a cup into each of 6 bowls. Each serving is 140 calories.

A note on cream sherry - despite the name, rest assured that there is no cream in it, and it is vegan (depending of course on filtration methods). 'Cream' here simply refers more to the smooth, richer texture of the sherry on the tongue.

Cost:
onion $1.02
canned vegetable broth $1.47
Cortland apples $2.09
bottled chestnuts $11.99
cream sherry $8.99