This is a cheerful soup with bright bits of butternut squash, mushrooms, red bell pepper, red jalapeno, poblano pepper, tomatoes and corn, each making a distinct contribution, but mingling amiably in a hot and sweet vegetable stock. I call this soup "new world" because all the primary ingredients (including the cranberry juice) are vegetables and fruits that were not seen elsewhere until after the arrival of Columbus. (However, it is really a global soup b/c all of the foundation ingredients and flavors - onion, garlic, sage, black pepper, olives for the olive oil, soybeans for the soy sauce, and grapes for balsamic vinegar - originated in Europe or Asia.) I use a bean stock for this - it is the cooking liquid produced by cooking well-soaked dried white beans in water to cover along with half an onion, a chunk of carrot, a couple of garlic cloves, a few black peppercorns, a bay leaf, and a tablespoon of olive oil, until tender, about 1 hour; reserve the beans for another use.

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