Soup And Sandwich

We recently discovered a new apple tree on the new homestead (well we've been walking by it but it didn't have fruit last year so we didn't know we had it). It's a leggy Gravenstein, an early season apple that is both highly regarded for baking and eating out of hand. The yellow-green and red striped fruits were once was the center of the apple industry in these parts and a neighboring town stills hosts a Gravenstein festival every August.
I found myself looking at a pile of apples with an oven on the blink (no pie today). Somehow that led me to soup. I had an scorn squash just begging to be cooked. I started a stock pot with 2 strips of thick bacon over medium heat. When the bacon had crisped and rendered a good amount of fat I set the meat aside and popped a chopped onion and 3 minced cloves of garlic into the pan to sauté in the bacon fat (delicious!). When the vegetables had softened (about 6 minutes) I added in two cored apples and that large acorn squash -- both peeled and chopped, along with one diced tomato, a bay leaf, two cups of chicken broth, and about a cup of water. I covered the pot and let the squash simmer until tender, about 15 minutes. I puréed the soup in the blender along with a dash of milk (about 1/2 cup) and served James his dinner topped with a little of that crisp bacon alongside a toasty grilled cheese sandwich.