No-Fuss Pumpkin Soup

I have a little confession to make: Even though it’s true that we have a farm, this year, we’ve had the least productive farm in its five-year history and at this very moment, we have absolutely nothing to harvest (aside from a shoddy selection of potted herbs).

Now, this was actually by design, as we finally accepted the fact that between the months of July and November, our lives are more than a little bit hectic. What’s more is that we (meaning, well, not me at all, but my husband and my dad) spent the last ten or so Saturdays putting up a whopping new greenhouse. This, along with our original greenhouse, will allow us to grow lots of wonderful things in the cooler months, when it’s actually somewhat pleasant to be outside. All of this is to say that I cannot claim to be picking anything from my garden and cooking it right now, though soon, I’ll have carrots, sweet potatoes, and greens galore.

Typically, at this time of year, we have a field full of pumpkins and butternut squash, and because I so miss this gorgeous display, I vow to take on the task again next fall. Though the thermometer has said otherwise this week, it is now, technically, autumn and thus, I’ve had a hankering for something pumpkin.

However, this was also one of our extra-frazzled weeks with my having jury duty and my daughter turning 10 on top of the typical mayhem (there’s been lots of goat-herding going on around here to boot). This meant that the only way in the world I was going to eat pumpkin was if it went directly from a can into the crock pot. Now, I like to do a lot of things the old fashioned way, like baking bread and . . . huh, maybe that’s really all – my point being that while it’s honorable to go to the trouble of gutting a pumpkin and baking it for use in say, pumpkin soup or pie, it’s really okay to use the canned stuff, especially if you have jury duty. Really.

So, in my quest to make this happen, I did a quick search on one of my favorite crock pot sites and tweaked the “Jamaican Pumpkin Soup” recipe just a bit. Here’s how it goes:

Crock Pot Pumpkin Soup

1 can pumpkin (15 oz.)

4 cups vegetable broth

1 cup water

1 red onion, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

3 minced garlic cloves

1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and grated or 1 tsp. powdered ginger

1 T maple syrup

2 tsp. kosher salt (or less depending on sodium content of your vegetable broth)

1 tsp. turmeric

1/4 tsp. allspice

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Sour cream or plain yogurt, 1 T per family member (optional)

Directions

Combine all ingredients except for sour cream or yogurt in crock pot, cover and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4-5 hours. Use a hand blender or transfer soup to standing blender and puree at least ¾ (I pureed it all). Serve with a tablespoon of sour cream or plain yogurt. Serves 6.

I paired this with a loaf of bread (which I, sadly, did not make). And, my friend, dinner was done.