You may recall that I used a bunch of pie pumpkins in my Thanksgiving table setting and on my kitchen island fall display. Soon after Thanksgiving, I roasted those pumpkins and froze the flesh – with the knowledge that I’d be making pumpkin soup for Christmas.

This recipe serves eight, so you will only need 2 small pumpkins, but since I had five to work with, I more than doubled the recipe.

For the garnish I used THESE sweet and spicy pepitas, but toasted pepitas (readily found at Trader Joe’s) work just as well.

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It is officially Christmas time in the Hopkins’ home. Connor drove home from Flagstaff on Wednesday afternoon, Marissa flew in from San Francisco yesterday afternoon, and Dave’s mom, Pat, flew in from Illinois last night. The gang’s all here, time to celebrate! Nothing like a nice hot bowl of soup to get the party started, well that and a glass of wine…

When you taste this creamy, thick, and rich soup you will swear that is it loaded with cream and fat… but no, the only fat comes from 2 tablespoons olive oil and that is divided by 12 servings, so nearly fat-free!

And the color, oh it is lovely – thanks to the last second addition of a bunch of spinach leaves. Check out this photo of the soup with and without the addition of spinach, just to show you the lovely transformation the spinach makes to the end result.

Healthy? Oh this soup is plenty healthy… cauliflower, broccoli, potatoes, and spinach – on my! Plus it uses the usually discarded broccoli stalks. I almost never discard broccoli stalks, they are flavor-packed and delicious! For instance, when I stir-fry, I use a vegetable peeler on the tough outer part of the stalk and then slice them up and throw them in the wok. No need to peel the stalks for the soup, they will get plenty tender during the simmering stage.

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It’s been raining for the last few days, so the weather is perfect for a steaming bowl of soup. But you already know how much I love soup, so really it doesn’t need to be raining to be the perfect day for me!

As I was working on the computer yesterday, I took a break to check in on  Facebook, and right there on my wall, I saw this post from Chelsea’s Kitchen (yes, the same same Chelsea’s Kitchen that serves THIS amazing Brussels Sprout Salad).

“Chelsea’s Kitchen is the perfect place on a rainy day to get some good ‘ole comfort food. Try our potato fennel soup with crispy shallots and parsley!  It’s amazing!”

Mind you, I had no intention of driving the 9 miles, in the rain, to eat a bowl of soup and to lunch all by myself.  But… I did have a fennel bulb, potatoes, and shallots in my own kitchen.  Although I don’t know if this soup is anything like the one served at CK… I can assure you, it too is amazing!

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If this soup doesn’t scream “AUTUMN” to you, I don’t know what does! You can find the pre-cut butternut squash at Costco and Trader Joe’s. Pictured below is one whole fresh butternut and a 2-pound package from Costco.

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I found this lovely orange kuri squash at the Phoenix Public Market in downtown Phoenix. It was almost too pretty to use, but I finally caved and made it into an equally lovely soup. Any winter squash will work just as well; butternut, pumpkin, acorn, whatever you find or have on hand.

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Chayote squash is a member of the gourd family Cucurbitaceae, along with melons, cucumbers and squash. Chayote is a good source of amino acids and vitamin C. The pear-shaped green fruit has a thin skin and a flattened pit (seed) that can be eaten, but is generally discarded. Chayote may be eaten raw, but is usually cooked as a side dish. You’ll find it in the produce section sold individually in little plastic sleeves or wrapped in tissue paper, which helps protect the thin skin from being pierced or blemished.

Now that you know all about chayote, it’s time to tell you about the coyote. But first, a little history.

Our backyard is enclosed with 6-foot tall solid block wall. Inside that wall live quail, bunnies, ground squirrels, and (gasp) roof rats. I can live with the cute quail and bunnies, even though the quail are stupid and bad parents and they tick me off and the bunnies eat my flowers. I used to think the squirrels were cute until one snuck into my house.  Well, he didn’t actually sneak in, he walked right in through the open door. It was two years ago, and I’m still not over it. Here is what I posted on Facebook that day – October 26, 2009
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I’ve been on a blue cheese kick recently. Maybe there is a nutrient in it that my body is short on.  Let’s see, it is a good source of protein, calcium, and phosphorus. No, that’s probably not the reason. It is also high in sodium and is very high in saturated fat… hmmm – that doesn’t sound good. This recipe redeems the blue cheese a little bit with its main ingredient, cauliflower. Cauliflower is low in fat, high in dietary fiber, folate, and vitamin C.  Leave off the bacon garnish and use vegetable broth, and you’ve got yourself a delicious good-evil, yin-yang, angel-devil vegetarian soup.

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There is no better time to make fresh tomato soup than right now, the height of tomato season.

So even if you’re not growing tomatoes in your own garden, get out to your local farmer’s market and pick up some ripe locally grown tomatoes and throw together this soup, enjoy hot, cold, or at room temperature.

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On the last day of classes each week, I ask the kids, “What was your favorite thing you ate this week, excluding desserts?” (I have to say, “excluding desserts” or all ten of the kids would rattle off one of 8 desserts we had made, trust me, I know – I was a kid once too and I’ve made the mistake before!) Six of the ten kids from last week said that the potato and bacon soup was their favorite dish.

Darn it, if I would have known that before, those six kids would have automatically been my teacher’s pets, because as you know… I Love Soup!

We made a couple other soups too, and I’ll post those in the coming days, plus a few more of the pastas, cupcakes, and sweets – stay tuned…

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In addition to the wonderful duck skin I brought home from Les Gourmettes after the last class of the season, I also was privileged to receive 3 lobster shells.  I used them to make 4 cups of lobster stock, 2 cups of which I have used to make luxurious Lobster Risotto.  I happened to also have a frozen lobster tail in my freezer, so I’ve cooked the tail, used the meat for the risotto, and used that shell to make lobster oil, which is drizzled on top of the finished dish… truly outstanding!

In the next week, I plan to take the remaining 2 cups lobster stock and make another dish, maybe lobster bisque…. I’ll decide upon that later and share with you what transpires.  In the meantime, here is the recipe for the lobster stock… tomorrow the oil and risotto will be posted.

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