Tasty Pumpkin Soup

Its pumpkin season and what could be more delightful for Halloween season then some warm, delicious pumpkin soup! Autumn leaves begin to fall, the rush of cold winds, lit pumpkins on people’s front porches, and that haunting, harvest feeling in the air.

Pumpkin Soup – Ingredients

•6 cups of vegetable stock

•4 cups of pumpkin puree

•1 ½ teaspoons of salt

•1 teaspoon of chopped fresh parsley

•1 cup of chopped onion

•½ teaspoon of chopped fresh thyme

•1 clove garlic (minced)

•4 Tablespoons of whipping cream

•½ teaspoon coarse ground pepper

Pumpkin Soup Directions

•Heat the vegetable stock, pumpkin, salt, onion, thyme, garlic, and pepper in a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and cook uncovered for 30 minutes.

•Use a food processor or blender to puree the soup into small batches.  If you have a handheld blender, you can puree the soup all at one time.

•Return soup to the pot and bring to a boil again.  Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for another 30 minutes.

•Stir in the heavy cream.  Serve in soup bowls and garnish with fresh parsley.

More Info on the Pumpkin

A pumpkin is a vernacular term for mature winter squash of species and varieties in the genus Cucurbita that has culinary and cultural significance but no agreed upon botanical or scientific meaning. The term pumpkin is sometimes used interchangeably with “squash” or “winter squash”, and is commonly used for cultivars of Cucurbita argyrosperma, Cucurbita ficifolia, Cucurbita maxima, Cucurbita moschata, and Cucurbita pepo.

Native to North America (northeastern Mexico and the southern United States), C. pepo pumpkins are one of the oldest domesticated plants, having been used as early as 7,000 to 5,500 BC. Today, pumpkins of varied species are widely grown for food, as well as for aesthetic and recreational purposes. The pumpkin’s thick shell contains edible seeds and pulp. Pumpkin pie, for instance, is a traditional part of Thanksgiving meals in Canada and the United States, and pumpkins are frequently carved as jack-o’-lanterns for decoration around Halloween, although commercially canned pumpkin purée and pumpkin pie fillings are usually made of different pumpkin varieties from those used for jack-o’-lanterns.

More Info on the Halloween Pumpkin

Many of the customs we now associate with Halloween are also derived from ancient celebrations.

For example, the current custom of going door-to-door to collect treats actually started in Ireland hundreds of years ago.  Groups of farmers would go door-to-door collecting food and materials for village feast and bonfires.

Those who gave were promised prosperity; those who did not received threats of bad luck.  When an influx of Irish Catholic immigrants came to the United States in the 1800s, the custom of trick or treating came with them.

Does your family carve a pumpkin to place on your porch for Halloween?  If so, then you can once again thank the Irish for the tradition.  Actually, the custom began with a turnip.  People would hollow out the turnips and place lighted candles inside to scare off the evil spirits.  When the Irish came to America, they discovered the pumpkin as a larger substitute for the turnip.  And so, we now carve pumpkins instead of turnips for Halloween.

So now you know why we carve pumpkins instead of turnips, but why do we call them jack-o-lanterns?  The name actually comes from the legend of an Irishman named Jack who was forced to roam the earth with only a burning coal inside a pumpkin to light his way because he had never performed a single selfless act throughout his life.

Even though Halloween may seem like a very secular holiday, and in many ways it has become so, there are distinctly Christian aspects to the holiday that you and your family can celebrate.  Happy Halloween!

For some Information on Growing Pumpkins, Follow this Link…

Growing Pumpkins: How to Plant, Grow, and Harvest Pumpkins | The Old Farmer’s Almanac

To Return to Our Main Halloween Page, Click Here…

The All Halloween Website – (celebratehalloween.net)