Spiced Pumpkin Soup

As the autumn air becomes chillier, it has become entirely necessary to add more soups to the weekly menu. Some night you want nothing more than a warm bowl of soup accompanied by bread and butter. I had one of those nights recently and had run the gamut of soups that are my usual go to's and needed something new. Thanks to Erika and her suggestion that I check out her amazing Pinterest board chock full of delicious soups, I stumbled across a recipe for a Sweet Spiced Pumpkin Soup. While the soup sounded quite tasty, I wasn't sure that I was in the mood for sweet-- I was thinking more earthy spices and stick to your ribs kind of soup. So I started with some of the main ingredients and adapted as I went. The final outcome was just what I had hoped for-- a hearty soup that warmed me up and tasted absolutely fantastic. I amped up the curry powder just a bit to give it a little extra kick and it turned out perfectly! This will definitely be a recipe that I will come back to.

Spiced Pumpkin Soup

2 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped carrot
1 cup chopped celery
half of an onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
1 can of pumpkin
1 can of coconut milk
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
2 teaspoons yellow curry powder

In a large soup pot, melt butter. Add the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic and saute until the onions are transparent. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer until the carrots and celery are tender. Use a hand-held blender to blend the soup in the pot until smooth. If you don't have a hand-held blender, you can transfer small amounts of the soup at a time to a standard blender or food processor.