Stayin in Soup Night

I made a soup like this a while back, and it was incredible. So simple, but so good! I've tweaked it a bit this time, and I also realized that last time there were no photos. So in an effort to beautify the blog, here is a sweet, spicy winter-relapse root soup, with some unusual add-ins for flavor (not including the bit of thumb I sliced off with an untrustworthy vegetable peeler). Paired with a small salad or rice and beans (or both!) this soup makes for a good warm-you-up soup on a very cold night.

What you need:

3 big peeled sweet potatoes, chopped big
1 leek, cleaned well and sliced
1 poblano pepper, seeded and chopped
1 beet, peeled and chopped
10 c water
1/2 c cooked squash
salt and pepper to taste
3 c corn kernels
2 T molasses

In a T of olive oil in a bit soup pot, saute ingredients listed from potatoes through beet for about 5 minutes. Add water and bring to boil. Then add squash. Boil about 1 hour. Puree. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add corn and molasses. Stir well. Serve.

** I've got to add-- last night I ended up eating this with rice and beans in the soup. And then tonight I ate it without the rice but with chipotle black beans and cheddar cheese on top. I think the black beans, though not essential, are a terrific addition to the soup...
Also, that beet? My best idea in a long time. For the flavor, the color, the texture (not all of the beets and sweet potatoes were pureed so smoothly). That beet was essential!