Top Ten Seasonal Pleasures of Fall: Number 5- Seasonal Cooking

With all the pretty fall decor there is to SEE, why not treat your tastebuds to the taste of fall too?  I love using various seasonal ingredients to celebrate each season (not to mention seasonal cooking TASTES the freshest and is an economical way to save money at the market!)

So almost every Monday night around here, we have a Soup/Salad/Sandwich night for supper.  There are many reasons for this, such as we did not eat as "healthy" as should have over the weekend and need to "lighten" things up on Monday.  Also, Monday is a busy day (back to school, back to work, housework, chores) so I like to keep things really simple and light on Mondays.

Now, I am a Soup-Lover, but soup is just not very appetizing here in Florida during the hotter months (although I have a killer chilled gazapacho recipe for those summer nights), so I am always so happy when the cooler temperatures FINALLY come around so I can "get my soup on"!!!

Recently one Monday, I made one of our favorite fall meals- Pumpkin Soup with a Seasonal Salad of apples, walnuts and blue cheese and a Apple Cider Vinagrette.  (We only had soup and salad that night, but if I were making sandwiches, I would make Grilled Cheese or Turkey Melts for this meal!)

The full recipe is at the bottom of this post…

The ingredients are very basic, the only thing you might not have is a can of pumpkin pie filling.

First, saute chopped onion and garlic in melted butter until softened.

 

Next, stir in your seasonings, and allow these to incorporate.

Next, add chicken stock, half and half, and the pumpkin pie filling, sirring until well combined.  Allow these to simmer.

 

Finally, I like to put the whole thing in the blender and blend until the soup is smooth and creamy.

 

I like to serve this soup with a dollop of sour cream (and ususally chopped chives, but as you can see- I was all out!)  A seasonal fall salad is a wonderful complement…I used chopped romaine, chopped apples, toasted walnuts, crumbled blue cheese and dried apple chips.  The dressing I like for this salad is a simple Apple Cider Vinagrette.

As I said before, a yummy grilled cheese sandwich with a fine aged cheddar would be delicious, or a turky melt sandwich…try to keep it seasonal!  This meal would be great at a pumpkin carving party or Thanksgiving get-together…or any night for that matter…enjoy!

 

Spicy Pumpkin Soup Recipe

1/4 cup of butter

1 chopped yellow onion

1 minced clove of garlic

1 tsp curry powder

1/4 tsp red pepper

1/4 tsp salt

3 cups chicken stock

16 oz can of pumpkin pie filling

1 cup half and half

sour cream and chives for garnish

Melt butter and saute onions and garlic until soft.  Add curry, red pepper and salt, cook for one minute then add chicken stock.  Boil gently for 10-15 minutes.  Stir in pumpkin and half and half.  Cook for five minutes more.  Put in blender or food processor and process until smooth and creamy.  Garnish with sour cream and chives.