Oh Happy Day!  I bet that’s what all the folks who just completed the Marine Corp Marathon are thinking today.  It seems we had quite a few runners from our area.  So, to all you locals – GOOD JOB!

As for me today, it was an easy recovery.  I started with 2 miles on the treadmill to warm my legs up for a weight workout. Ted wanted to run with me so I got a good arm pump as well while I waited for him to get ready to run. The three of us went outside into the cold, dark HALLOWEEN morning for a 42:00 min run.  Total miles today: 6.39. 

Get into the Halloween mood with this terrific seasonal soup recipe. You’ll love it!

This recipe was discovered while we were on The PCA Fall Tour.  It’s one of Chef Michael Bernardo, owner of Café Mio in Gardiner, NY, favorite recipes for celebrating the Fall season.

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Chef used a Long Island Cheese Pumpkin, I used a regular “Halloween” pumpkin.  Chef also topped his soup with toasted pumpkin seeds but I prefer walnuts.

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  • 1 medium pumpkin (you will need about 2 1/2 cups of pumpkin)
  • 4 TBS olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 tsp. minced garlic
  • 1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper
  • 1 tsp. curry powder
  • 1/2 tsp. coriander
  • pinch cayenne pepper
  • 3 honey crisp apples, peeled and diced
  • 3 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 cup fat free or low fat milk
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • Toasted walnuts for topping
  • Gorgonzola for topping

Preheat oven to 350 F. Hollow out the pumpkin to make free of seeds and stringy stuff. Put a little water in a pan and roast, covered with foil, for 1 hour. Turn off oven and leave pumpkin in as the oven cools for 30 – 45 minutes *depending on the size of your pumpkin. Remove and set aside.  When cool, scoop out the soft flesh but leave the outer skin in tact so you can fill it with soup for presentation.

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add onions, apples, and garlic and cook for 4 minutes, stirring often.  Add the spices and stir for one more minute.  Add the pumpkin and broth. Blend well. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.

Transfer soup to a food processor and puree until smooth. Return to pan and heat on low.  Add the brown sugar and mix.  Slowly add the milk.  Adjust seasoning to taste, add a little salt if you want.

Serve topped with toasted walnuts and crumbled Gorgonzola cheese.

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You HAVE to eat the soup with the nuts and the gorgonzola at the same time.

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The flavor is WONDERFUL!

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The key to this recipe is to cook the pumpkin early in the day and let it cool.   Then the soup is easily made within 30 minutes at night.

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Don’t pass this one up. It’s what Fall is all about.

And your favorite soup TO MAKE is?…….

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