Pumpkin soup and roasted pumpkin seeds

Another #foodie Friday post.

So to mark the very beginning of fall I’ve made pumpkin soup. It was not premeditated I just felt like making pumpkin soup. I make lots of squash soups all year long actually.

I wish I had taken a picture of the cute little squash before I gutted and roasted it, but I did not so here it is after the fact.

I halved it then took out the seeds and wrapped the squash in foil. I roasted it at 400 degrees for about 1 1/2 hours. After roasting the pumpkin I turned down the oven to 250 and roasted the pumpkin seeds.

These are the seeds before roasting. I lightly rinsed them. I like leaving a bit of the pumpkin goop as it helps the salt I add to them stick nicely. You might add spices too if you like them. Cayenne would be nice. I roasted them at 250 for several hours until browned and crispy.

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I eat them whole. They are very yummy.

Now the soup.

Ingredients:

● 1 smallish pumpkin (I wish I had weighed it but I didn’t)
● 48 oz bone stock (I make mine at home but you can use any stock you have on hand veggie or meat based)
● 1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
● 2 tbls virgin coconut oil
● 1 large onion
● 4 large garlic cloves
● Salt to taste
● 1 tsp cumin
● 1 tbls coriander
● 1/2 tsp cinnamon
● 1 tbls dried ginger
● 1 tbls dried mustard
● 1 tsp cayenne (I skip this as I do not currently tolerate nightshades, but it’s nice if you can include it)
● plain yogurt to top the soup with (optional…I no longer eat dairy, but some people tolerate yogurt just fine even if they don’t eat other dairy. I took the below photo when I still ate yogurt)

Directions:

So roast the pumpkin for an hour and a half or until nice and soft. Let cool a bit.

Saute onion and garlic in coconut oil. Let this cool a bit too once it’s nice and soft.

Toss pumkin in a blender and add enough broth to puree. Or alternately use my favorite small kitchen appliance, the immersion hand blender. Do the same with the onions and garlic. Blend one of the batches with all the spices. Mix it all up in a pot and just barely bring to a boil. Turn off and let sit for a few hours. Add the orange juice and reheat when you want to eat it.

If you like top it with the yogurt.

Done.