One of my son’s favorite book series is the “Pumpkin Soup”, “Delicious” and “A Pipkin of Pepper” by Helen Cooper. (images taken from google images – amazon.com)

These beautiful books and the time of year inspired us to make a couple of pumpkin soups. I usually make a base (pumpkin puree) that we can store by freezing it, and then we make soup from that base. This time I made the base in the slow cooker so I didn’t have to check on it all the time and it worked out great. The two soups we made were a Pumpkin Cream Soup and a Curried Pumpkin Soup.

Ingredients for Pumpkin puree (cooked in the slow cooker)

1/2 large pumpkin (chopped in ~2 inch pieces)
2 Granny Smith apples (grated ~1 cup)
1 cup carrot (grated)
1 onion (grated)
1 32 oz box of low-sodium vegetable stock

Add all the ingredients to the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours. Use a hand blender to blend the softened vegetables (be careful of hot splashes). Use immediately or place into freezer suitable containers.

Pumpkin Cream Soup (Kid-friendly recipe)

Ingredients 

3 cups Pumpkin Puree (from the slow cooker)
1 cup of heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste

Add all ingredients to a sauce pan, heat. I use a whisk to stir in the pumpkin puree and the cream. Serve immediately, with a  dollop of sour cream and pinch of nutmeg.

Curried Pumpkin Soup (adult version of pumpkin soup)

Ingredients

3 cups of pumpkin puree (from above)
1/2 can of coconut milk (I use a light coconut milk)
2 tsp red curry paste
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 inch fresh ginger (finely grated)

Add all the ingredients into a sauce pan, stir using a whisk and heat through. Serve immediately. You can add a dollop of plain greek yoghurt, topped with fresh chopped coriander.