Last weekend, we went to the pumpkin patch at Bella Organic Farm on Sauvie Island. We came home super-muddy, but with organic pumpkins of all shapes, colors, and sizes! Here are our favorite pumpkin recipes from this week.
It all started with a generous batch of PUMPKIN BUTTER–enough for us and our neighbors. (It warmed my heart to send Zander next door to excitedly deliver the jars he had helped to prepare). We love and always use this recipe from Oh She Glows.
Next came the ROASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS. Again, thank you Angela Liddon for this great recipe. I always used to scorch my seeds before cooking them this way.
After making the pumpkin butter, we had some leftover roasted pumpkin to use up, and we are taking a break from pumpkin muffins (we have eaten a lot of those lately), so we decided to make a soup.
I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but it rivaled the “lick-your-bowl-clean” soup we made recently with the last of our summer squash! Here is the recipe, modified slightly from the original, which I found in one of my favorite staple cookbooks, Local Bounty: Seasonal Vegan Recipes, by Devra Gartenstein.
CARIBBEAN PUMPKIN-COCONUT SOUP
Ingredients:
2 pounds kabocha pumpkin or winter squash (I used roasted sugar pumpkin)
8 cups vegetable stock or water (I used veggie “chicken” broth)
2 leeks, cut in half lengthwise, cleaned, and chopped (omitted, because we had none)
2 chiles (mild or hot), diced (I used about 2-3 Tbsp crushed red pepper flakes)
4 cloves garlic, minced (I used about 3/4 cup of garlic, because we love garlic)
1 tsp Himalayan salt
1 bunch collard greens (4 to 6 leaves), cut into thin strips (I doubled this!!)
1 can (14 oz) coconut milk
juice of 1 lime
1 tsp fresh thyme, or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp ground allspice
Instructions:
Cut the pumpkin in half top to bottom and remove the seeds. Roast or steam until very soft. (Ours was already done–we had previously roasted it in the oven).
Here’s where my instructions start to vary a lot… Rather than write both sets, I’m just going to tell you what I did.
Saute the minced garlic, Himalayan salt, crushed red pepper flakes, thyme, and allspice in coconut oil until garlic is soft. Add vegetable stock and collard greens. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
While simmering, mix the pumpkin flesh with coconut milk in a high-speed blender until smooth and creamy. Try to resist eating it straight from the blender. Add to broth and greens at the end of the 15-20 minutes, when the collard greens are nice and soft.
Stir in the lime juice, then dish into bowls. If you haven’t eaten them all by now, I highly recommend tossing a handful of crunchy roasted pumpkin seeds on top of each bowl of soup for added texture.
Enjoy!
Now, it’s time to get to work on our carving pumpkins… 🙂
Kim McCoy
Vegan Mama 