Curried Pumpkin Soup

In the spirit of Halloween tomorrow I wanted to share with you a simple pumpkin soup that so often graces my table as my door bell rings incessantly on Trick-or-Treat night.

It is warm, cozy, simple and delicious. This can be made with full fat half & half making it luxurious and extravagant or we very often mix in coconut milk instead. Whether you use coconut milk or half & half the pumpkins in this soup will give you a vitamin boost including beta-carotene & Vitamin A as well as calcium, potassium, and a bit of Vitamins C & K. Great way to balance out some of the sugar overload that starts tomorrow and doesn't seem to stop until January.

Use canned pumpkin or cook up your own. Preheat your oven to 375. Cut a pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds (and then roast them up for Pepitas). Place flesh side of the squash up and bake for 30-45 minutes until a butter knife can gently cut into the flesh.

I grew that little cutie that accompanies the soup- can't wait to cook it up into something delicious. Maybe for tomorrow nights Trick or Treat!

Curried Pumpkin Soup

1 lg onion
2 tablespoons butter or coconut oil
1 16oz can pumpkin or 2 cups cooked pumpkin
4 C chicken broth or non-chic vegetarian broth
1 bay leaf
1/2 t sugar
1/2 t curry powder
1/8 t nutmeg
2 C half and half or coconut milk
salt to taste
pepper to taste
chives and/or pumpkin seeds for topping

Sauté onions until golden brown. Add the pumpkin through the nutmeg and simmer uncovered 15minutes, stirring occasionally. Puree in food processor or blender. Returns to pan add half and half or coconut milk, salt and pepper. Simmer for 5-10 minutes. Top with chopped chives and/or a sprinkle of toasted pumpkin seeds.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Pepitas or Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

One of the healthiest treats during the holidays are simple to make and come out your pumpkin or other winter squash when you are making pies, pumpkin salad, or of course carving a jack-o-lantern during Halloween. Fortunately, they are simple to make and can be flavored any way you may like.

Every time I roast pumpkin seeds it is rather thrown together and everything is quite un-exact, mainly because my pumpkins are all various sizes. Also, I constantly change my spice combination depending on my mood or the dish they will be served with.

Roasting Pumpkin Seeds

1-3 cups of pumpkin seeds (flesh removed)

1-3 tablespoons of vegetable oil (olive, coconut, or even melted butter)

1-3 tablespoons of your favorite spices

1-2 tsp salt

Making sure your pumpkin seeds are clean and dry is essential. Start by rinsing the seeds in a bowl of water and rub them between your hands to remove any threads of flesh that are still clinging on. Next, dump them in a colander and shake off the liquid. I usually let them drain for a few minutes. Then spread them out on a tray or plate to continue drying. Typically, I am carving a pumpkin or cooking something so I ignore the seeds for quite a while. When the seeds are relatively dry, they are ready to be cooked. You can also rub them between a kitchen towel to absorb off any excess moisture.

Preheat the oven to 325. Spread them on a baking sheet and toss them with the oil and spices. Bake for about 20 minutes, shaking the pan about every 5-10 minutes. Continue heating until the pumpkin seeds are to your preferred level of crunchiness. Remove the pan from the oven, if the seeds are perfect take them off of the pan quickly as they will continue to cook a bit more on the hot pan. If they need a bit more time allow them to cool on the pan.

Enjoy sprinkled on salads, in a beautiful package for a gift, or in trail mix!

Wikipedia has a few additional fun facts about Pepitas.