{T-giving} Pumpkin Soup

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! We are having an unusual holiday; since A.L.E. flew in today, and our relatives were otherwise occupied, we only had the three of us for dinner. We decided to split the cooking and eating over two days, and have our Thanksgiving first course and desserts today (with mac n cheese from the freezer), and the turkey and trimmings main course on Friday (with leftover pies, of course!)

Here's a fantastic pumpkin soup that we first tried last year. It made such a big hit with all of us, we just had to repeat it. You can make this recipe in a snap, and it's low fat but so rich and creamy tasting that you'd never know!

Pumpkin Soup
This is my adaptation of a recipe from Epicurious.com, but I can't find the original cite.

2 Tablespoon unsalted butter or less if using a nonstick pan
1 cup chopped onion (I used pre-chopped)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 ¾ cups chicken broth (14oz can), or homemade (I used homemade)
1 16oz can pureed pumpkin (I used homemade)
¾ teaspoon brown sugar (packed)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or ¼ teaspoon dried thyme (I used fresh)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary or ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary (I used fresh)
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon salt
dash white pepper
dash red/cayenne pepper
dash nutmeg
1 cup evaporated skim milk or combined with 2% milk
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

1. In a large saucepan, melt butter. Saute onion and garlic over medium heat for 7-8 minutes until lightly browned.

2. Add broth, pumpkin, and seasonings. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

3. Remove from heat. Stir in milk.

4. In a blender or food processor, combine soup mixture and pecans in batches at low speed for 1 minute. (I pureed in two batches in blender)

5. Return to pan and heat, stirring.

Today, I am overwhelmed with thanks that I have food to eat, a roof over my head, family and friends to share it with. I'm also grateful that I can enjoy cooking as an avocation, with such a bounty of resources and fellow cooks with whom to compare notes.

{Note: I'm celebrating my first 100 blog posts with a cookbook giveaway - to enter, go here and leave a comment before December 3}