Thai Pumpkin Soup

We really haven't had a cold Winter here in the Bay Area or a wet one, but I still enjoy spicy, hot soup this time of year.

Since pumpkins are pretty much out of season now, this should be one of my last pumpkin recipes until Fall. (Although I confess to having roasted and frozen jars of this luscious vegetable for the Spring to cook with!)

Here's what you'll need for this soup:

1-2 small pumpkins, seeded and roasted at 350 on a cookie sheet for 1 - 1 1/2 hours. Tip: scoop out pumpkin from skin using an ice cream scoop once it's roasted and cool enough to handle.

• 1/2 can coconut milk (I freeze the remaining milk for future use. I also like the low fat coconut milk you can purchase at Trader Joe's)
• 2-3 teaspoons Thai Kitchen green curry paste
• 16 ounces Magic Mineral Stock
• 1/4 cup Sambal Oelek ground fresh chili paste (use less for less heat) 

Combine all ingredients in a stock pot and cook on medium heat stirring periodically for 30-45 minutes. I pureed my soup to make it even smoother - but this shouldn't be required. Pumpkin will break down and the texture will become more liquid with additional cooking with the stock.

I froze remaining jars of this soup for future lunches on chilly days. Yum!

Use that body...

I'm talking about that left over roasted chicken body that you've been nibbling on for a week. Now it's time to get a few more meals for this bird.

Variation of my chicken stock:

• In a large pot place your picked over roasted chicken carcass
• Add 6-8 cups water (I use water from my Brita only because the water from the tap has a flavor I don't like)
• 1 red or white onion cleaned and chopped in chunks
• 3-4 garlic cloves peeled and chopped in chunks
• 5-6 juniper berries
• 2 sweet potatoes peeled and chopped in chunks
• 1 bunch of turnips peeled and chopped in chunks
• 1/2 Tablespoon Kosher salt
• 8-12 whole peppercorns
• 1/2 fennel bulb (or celery) and stalks chopped into chunks
• 4 carrots peeled and chopped

Cook 3-4 hours on medium heat until all of the vegetables are mushy. Strain stock with fine-mesh sieve or colander. It was hard for me to toss all the cooked vegetables, but I haven't found the magic in them - but in the cooked stock which is amazing to add to soup.

Freeze strained stock in 8-16 once glass jars.

Using 8-16 ounces of chicken stock, you're now ready to make a Butternut-Pumpkin soup.

Squash Soup

Cut in half 1-2 butternut squash(I had roasted a grocery store Halloween pumpkin and froze it in 16 once jars. Or you can also roast a second butternut squash.) Roast in oven at 350 for 1 hour.

Cool and using an ice cream scooper, scoop out squash meat. Add to stock pot with chicken stock.

Plus add
1-2 teaspoon Turmeric
2-3 fennel stocks sliced in 1/2 inch pieces (or celery)
2 carrots
1 yellow onion sliced

Cook on medium heat for 45 minutes until carrots are tender. Then emulsify or place in glass blender to puree.

Soup can be served with a persimmon green salad with a citrus champagne vinaigrette.

Bon Appetite!