Pumpkin Soup + Halloween Traditions

We had a weekend filled with Halloween celebrations and traditions.  The week started out with a visit to the pumpkin patch   The farm that we traditionally visit is about an hour away and it is well worth the drive.  It is a huge farm with old fashion fun and games; a huge corn maze, tomato shooting, hay rides, shaved ice, and acres of pumpkins to choose from.  Eli is 12 and he still looks forward to our yearly tradition of spending an afternoon simply having fun.

When Eli was very young, my mom started a tradition of carving pumpkins with the kids. We try to do carve as close to Halloween as possible.  If we do it too far in advance, the bugs take over and it is not such a pretty site. It's our job to get the pumpkins but it is mom's job to purchase the kits.  She and the kids mull over the pages in the book and decide which pattern to recreate.  In the past, our pumpkins could have won prizes.  This year...not the case.  They actually sucked.  They were so bad, they were funny.  The kids didn't have the patience this year and I think mom was simply tired.  None the less, we still set them out on the porch, lit a candle and enjoyed the light!

The day of Halloween was filled with anticipation, parties and dressing up.  Isaac went to his friend Gaby's for a pre-dinner extravaganza.  His friend's costumes were amazing and it turned out to be a great group of adults.  We both thoroughly enjoyed!

"the joker", banana head, the devil, and Darth Vader

After that, Eli was off to his friend, Jamie's.  Jamie and her dad create this amazing haunted house.  My friend Joanne had commented that "Halloween had thrown up on their lawn".  However, I totally disagreed.  It was fabulous.  I was a tad jealous (unfortunately, I did not get a photo).  It was the grave yard of all grave yards and it was super festive.  I loved it.  Eli ended up going trick or treating with all his "gal pals".  When he came home he was happy, happy, happy.  And then his molar tooth fell out.  I decided to peek through his candy bag.  I saw all the OPEN WRAPPERS!  He easily could have eaten a pound of candy!  No wonder, his tooth fell out!

In the past years, we have always entertained the neighborhood.  Some years I would make huge vats of chili with all the fix ins, other years it would be pulled turkey sandwiches, and then there were those years of baked ziti and lasagna.  Whatever worked for a crowd, I did it.  Yet, this year, since the kids were going to be spread out a bit on Halloween night, I choose to create something quiet, that we adults could eat at our leisure.  I made a pot of pumpkin soup (usually ends up on our Thanksgiving table), a huge salad, a hunk of bread and and apple cake (post to follow).  I love this soup.  It isn't heavy, it could be vegan (replace the butter with coconut oil) and it is hearty.  I have been making this soup for over 20 years and to this day, I still look forward to eating it.

Puree of Pumpkin Soup
yield: 1 quart

ingredients:
4 Tbls. unsalted butter or coconut oil
1 large onion, diced
1 medium leek, white part only, chopped
1 pound canned pumpkin puree
4 cups homemade veggie stock
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. white pepper
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1 bay leaf

instructions:
• in a large stock pot, melt the butter.  saute onion and leeks until soft.  stir occasionally to avoid burning.
• stir in pumpkin puree, stock, all the spices, and the bay leaf.  bring to a boil.
• lower the heat and simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes.
• remove the bay leaf and puree the mixture in batches in a blender.

if you desire a creamer soup, add some half and half after it is pureed and cook for a few minutes over low heat.

Roasted Carrot Soup

I am sitting here, in fabulous San Francisco, attending BlogHerFood'10(writing this with total and utter glee) and I couldn't leave my home without cleaning out my vegetable drawer.  My veggies simply needed some love.  And had I not loved my veggies, there would have been lots and lots of waste.  I would not have been able to leave in good consciousness had I wasted all those veggies.  So, I put my carrots, leeks, celery, kale, chard, radishes, fennel and parsnips to good use.  Here is what transpired once I cleaned out the drawer:

Roasted Carrot Soup

Vegetable Stock

Fettuccine with Kale and Sausages
A very, very simple Apple Tart

Israeli salad (cucumbers, Roma tomatoes, red onion, radishes, lemon)

While I roasted my veggies for the soup, I started a big batch of vegetable stock.  The beauty of making your own stocks is that you can use up veggies that are on the verge of being thrown out, plus, stocks freeze really, really well!  I use both vegetable stock and chicken stock in almost all of my savory dishes and there is really nothing better than homemade stocks!

Roasted Carrot Soup
yield: 2 quarts

ingredients:
2 lbs. carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2" chunks
2 Spanish onions, rough chopped
3 leeks, white part only, cleaned and chopped (reserve green parts for stock)
3 garlic cloves, rough chopped
2 Tbls. olive oil
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
7 cups vegetable stock (preferably homemade)
fresh chives

instructions:
• preheat oven to 375*.  lightly spray a large jelly roll pan with cooking spray.
• combine the carrots, leeks*, onions, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, and cumin on the tray.  toss lightly with your hands.  spread evenly, try not to overlap veggies.
• roast in preheated oven for 40-55 minutes or until veggies are tender, but not burnt.
•in the meantime, warm your vegetable stock and chop your chives.
• in a blender, blend equal amount veggies and stock until completely pureed.  you will have to do this in several batches.
• warm pureed soup over a low flame.  you may need to add more stock or water to get the consistency you prefer.  check seasonings.
• if you so desire, add some heavy cream (I didn't and it was still delicious)
• serve in individual bowls and sprinkle with chives and a drizzle of good olive oil.

* to clean leeks, cut the white parts in half and soak in warm water for 10 minutes.  you will see sand grains at the bottom of your water.  rinse and repeat.  while you are doing the whites, do the green parts as well as you will be using them in your vegetable stock.

The Best Vegetable Stock

ingredients:
1 lb leeks, white and green parts
1 lb. carrots, cleaned and chopped
1 1/2 yellow onion chopped
1 fennel bulb, chopped
3 parsnips, chopped
the leaves and ends of a bunch of celery
handful of parsley
2 bay leaves
3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
10 black peppercorns
8 quarts of water

instructions:
• heat a little sunflower oil in a large stock pot ( I use a huge le creuset).  saute leeks (white part only), carrots, fennel, parsnip, onion, and celery leaves/ends.  saute for 10 minutes until just starting to soften.  add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil.
• once boiled, turn fire down to simmer and slightly cover.  simmer for 1 1/2 hours.  turn off fire, remove lid and let cool for 30 minutes.
• remove veggies, discard.  strain stock into another stock pot.  let cool completely.
• once cooled, store in quart sized, freezer friendly containers(I get mine at surfas.  will post photos later).
• label the containers with date and description.  can be frozen for up to 2 months.