National Pumpkin Day - supping Pumpkin soup and more!

For National Pumpkin Day    QUICK AND HAPPY FOOD FUN:  

instant pumpkin soup and other ideas:

 - preheat oven to 400F.  

• Using any orange pumpkin - large, small, spagetti or classic

• Quarter, seed/clean pumpkin. Save seeds and process as you wish, or discard.

• Bake, inside-down, in a large roaster, with the sections nested to form a sort of tent, if you can with some water in the pan for just a bit of moisture as it bakes. Test with fork after 30 minutes, but may take an hour...will smell right :-) ( option: if you like the spice aroma while it bakes, go ahead and sprinkle some at it - cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, allspice, and a sprikle of salt - nice smells. But plain is fine, too)

• When done, allow to cool, then scoop out the pumpkin and discard the shell, soft or hard. Now the fun begins and is easy:

• Nearly Instant Pumpkin SOUP happens in under 5 minutes:

• Place some of the baked pumpkin in your smoothie maker or processor , with enough water to make it "go" easily - and pulse till smooth.

• Place in dish or soup bowl , add spices and butter to taste and heat till hot. Bubbly can get messy and burn you with splashing, but if it feels witchy-tasty, go ahead.

• THAT'S IT - just plain tasty and wildly nourishing, too!

OPTIONS:  Add a meat stock or hot dogs or sliced carrots or peas or beans, potato...whatever... use your imagination.  BUT TASTE-TEST  IT IN A SMALL AMOUNT OF THE SOUP FIRST, BEFORE ADDING IT TO THE WHOLE AMOUNT, in case your imagination is not quite on the mark and  it fails in flavor.

ORRRR  ...more fun with all that pumpkin:
 - Side dish VEGETABLE - serve in chunks or loosely fork mashed as you would any other squash
- smoothed to thick chunks like apple sauce, sweetened and spiced, even HOTspices,  alongside a thing.
- I have not tried to make pumpkin chips but I'll bet they could be done, with the baking stopped while the pumpkin was still  part-firm, so it could be sliced and quick fried or broiled. Butter and salt if you like.  maybe?

And of course
- PUMPKIN PIE - follow any pumpkin pie recipe  for pies or tarts.

- Cookies and muffins and cupcakes and pumpkin bread or cake - delicious and colorful health.

YES.. especially if you baked a large pumpkin:  use some/ freeze some, by simply putting a few cups into a freezer baggie.  I have no idea how soon to use it because mine has never been there long.  :-D   

Here is a link to the "National Day Calendar" for  a Happy National Pumpkin Day! - and more recipes, too!