Hearty Pumpkin Soup

I made this up this past Halloween because the Trader Joe's pumpkin we bought was the sweetest and more delicious-looking pumpkin I had ever seen. I just couldn't resist! This is a great way to use your Halloween pumpkin for three things: a decoration, a soup, and roasted seeds!

Chinese people often make soup with little pumpkin cubes in a chicken broth. Any kind of pumpkin/squash works, like butternut.

Google procedures for properly getting the meat out of a pumpkin...I was carving it at the same time so it'll be different.

HEARTY PUMPKIN SOUP
This recipe showcases the natural flavor of the pumpkin. That said, there's barely any spice.
You can add barley to it to change it up the next day!

=Ingredients=
1 large eating pumpkin (with at least 2 lbs meat, I would say)
Chicken broth homemade, or hot water and a couple of Trader Joe's chicken broth essence packages
(Or: Vegetable bouillon, without too many distracting flavors - keep it simple)
Salt and pepper sparingly

=Instructions=
***FIRST, you make the soup. THEN, you carve a design into your pumpkin! I have found that carving first makes it harder to get the meat out without ruining your lovely design.

1. Prepare your Hallow's Eve pumpkin!! This includes cutting a circle around the stem and removing the "lid", and putting the seeds & guts in a bowl for later. (Find a recipe for roasted seeds online -- I used onion powder, garlic powder, salt and sprayed on some oil.)
Then, with an ice cream scoop or metal baller, scoop out as much soft pulp as you can. I didn't make balls, I scooped out long "strips" of pumpkin. You can use a small, sharp knife for delicate work.
2. Have your large stock pot (at least 3 quarts) nearby. As you scoop, place the meat into the pot.
3. The pot should be no more than 3/4 full of pumpkin. If there's more than that, put it in a plastic bag/large mason jar and store it in the fridge. Find a cool recipe!
4. Prepare boiling water. Measure it out by the cupful and add it to the pumpkin pot until the pumpkin is covered by 2 inches. KEEP TRACK of how many cups you added!
5. Add as much TJ's chicken essence/bouillon cubes/bouillon powder as necessary, based on number of cups of water.
(OR, IF YOU HAVE HOMEMADE BROTH/STOCK: Add enough to cover pumpkin by 2 inches.)
6. Cover pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer. If your lid doesn't have a vent, leave a little vent by putting the lid on a bit crooked -- don't let the soup boil over! If you're not making other things in the kitchen, set an alarm and check on it often.
7. Simmer, stirrring occasionally, until pumpkin is totally tender.

8. At this point, you have two options: Either you can puree it carefully, or you can do like I did and just leave it the way it is. Break up the pumpkin into smaller chunks with a spatula or wooden spoon. It's okay if they're not all the same size, just as long as you have bite-sized chunks. ***PUREEING: Always allow to cool before pureeing in a blender! A wand pureer is really handy.

9. Taste and season with salt and pepper sparingly if it's too bland for you. Always be careful with pepper -- a little goes a long way!

I did not use any sort of herb here, but you could add some dried savory with the chicken broth/veggie broth before you start simmering. I've done this and it tastes very good. The only thing is I REALLY love the natural taste of pumpkin, and adding the savory overpowered the pumpkin flavor.

Bon apetit!