Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Add the cashews to a heat-proof bowl and cover them with boiling water. Allow them to soak for at least 15-20 minutes.

Rinse any dirt off the kabocha then cut it in half. Sccop out and discard the seeds and pulp. Cut each of the halves in half again so that you have 4 wedges. Remove any stems and fronds from the fennel. Reserve some of the fennel fronds for garnish. Slice each fennel bulb in half lengthwise and remove the core from each half. Cut each fennel half in half. Arrange the fennel, squash, and un-peeled garlic cloves on your lined baking sheet so that nothing is overlapping. Drizzle the squash and fennel with some olive oil and season with a couple of pinches of salt. Roast the squash, fennel, and garlic for approximately 45-60 minutes until the squash and fennel are very tender. Keep an eye on the fennel as it may be ready much sooner than the kabocha.

While the veggies are roasting, drain and rinse the cashews then add them to a blender along with the water, sage, thyme leaves, and bouillon cube. Run the blender on high until liquified (it should look like cashew milk). Add half of this mixture to a large pot, leaving the remaining half in the blender.

When the veggies are done, remove them from the oven and let them cool a bit until you can safely handle them. Add the fennel to the blender with the cashew milk mixture. Squeeze the roasted garlic out of the skins, then add to the blender. Lastly, separate the squash flesh from the skin and add it to the blender along with the chili powder and lemon juice. Discard the squash skin. Run the blender on high until the mixture is very smooth. Add this mixture to the pot with the cashew milk and whisk until combined.

Taste the soup then add more salt if needed. Warm the soup to your liking over medium heat then serve topped with a sprinkling of roasted pumpkin seeds and chopped fennel fronds.