Halloween Night Recipes~Pumpkin Soup

Hello everyone!

We finally made it to September...come on Autumn!!  :)  I have had intentions for quite some time to transfer some of the Halloween recipes I've had for years onto the blog.  I want to categorize them eventually to make them easier to find once they've been posted here on the blog.  We've been holding an open discussion over at our Facebook page about what features you, the reader, want us to start posting.  Julie came up with a great suggestion...instead of candy or other sweet Halloween recipes (though we will post those as well, don't worry!) she was really interested in actual meals.  This reminded me of some of the Halloween meals I've come across in several of my magazines.  These are meals you could serve at a Halloween party, take to a potluck dinner, or just make for your family!  My wonderful friend, Brenda, who has become one of my main researchers for this blog found the recipes that I will be posting this week.  Be sure to check out Brenda's art page: Emmy Bunter Art Dolls and her band: Fish with Feathers!

Our recipe for this week is Pumpkin Soup!  Brenda found two really great recipes for this dish which is why I'm sharing both.  This first recipe Brenda found in one of her Linda McCartney books (yay for a Beatles related post!).

Pumpkin Soup
from LINDA'S KITCHEN by Linda McCartney (Little, Brown)
Serving Size: 6

1 3/4 pounds pumpkin, cleaned and cut OR 4 cups pumpkin cubes
1 1/2 quarts water
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, chopped
3/4 cup chopped parsley
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a large saucepan, simmer pumpkin cubes in the water until they are very tender.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a frying pan and sauté onions until golden.

Purée pumpkin and liquid in a blender or food processor, or press through a strainer, and return to pan.  Add the sautéed onions and parsley. Season to taste and heat through.

(PER SERVING: 89 calories; 4.9 g fat (0.6 g saturated fat; 50% calories from fat); 0 mg cholesterol; 120 mg sodium. Note: Analysis includes 1/4 teaspoon salt.)

Notes:
This warming soup can be garnished with toasted pumpkin seeds.

I love the suggestion of toasted pumpkin seeds as a garnish!  Here is the second recipe:

Pumpkin Soup
Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
•1 tablespoon margarine
•1 onion, diced
•1 16 oz can of pumpkin purée
•1 1/3 cups vegetable broth
•3 cups milk
•1/2 tsp nutmeg
•1/2 tsp sugar
•salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

In a large saucepan, cook the onion in the margarine for 3-5 minutes, until onion turns clear. Add remaining ingredients, stirring to combine. Cook over medium heat for another 10-15 minutes. Enjoy!
Makes 4 servings.

Nutritional Information:
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 190, Calories from Fat: 63
% Daily Value
Total Fat: 7.0g, 11%
Saturated Fat: 1.2g, 6%
Cholesterol: 0mg, 0%
Sodium: 388mg, 16%
Total Carbohydrates: 24.3g, 8%
Dietary Fiber: 4.9g, 20%
Sugars: 13.1g
Protein: 9.2g
Vitamin A 356%, Vitamin C 11%, Calcium 9%, Iron 17%


I love the fact that this recipe uses nutmeg!  You can have a lot of fun in the way you serve these soups.  You could serve it in a bread bowl or you could hollow out a pumpkin, find a bowl that will fit inside your pumpkin and fill your bowl with the soup.  This leaves zero chance of your soup leaking out of your pumpkin and makes for easy cleanup!  :)  You could also add a spooky element and use a skeleton ladle which you can purchase at a party store.

Hope you enjoyed our first recipe post!  I had fun writing it and can't wait to write more!  If you try these recipes, please let me know how they turn out!  That being said, PLEASE share your Halloween recipes with me!  If you have a blog/website/page and you submit a recipe, I will mention your site in the blog post.  It's an easy way to get free advertising plus, we want you (the reader) to be as involved as you possibly can be! 

Happy Eating and Happy Haunting!