Pumpkin Soup in a Pumpkin

It's been a mild summer in Illinois. Very few really hot days, and plenty of cool ones. As a result, my craving for Fall weather meals has arrived early. Thankfully, the pumpkins from our garden were harvestable this past week so I took it upon myself to finally make some delicious pumpkin soup.

I have been wanting to make this recipe since reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle last January. Barbara Kingsolver has a wonderful little story around this meal in her novel. I knew the moment I read it I'd be making it with the first available pumpkin from my garden. It can be a little tricky, but I'm still a big fan. For the recipe click here (pdf).

Some tips:

• Make sure to scrape the insides of the pumpkin pretty regularly. Around every 15 minutes or so. The cooked flesh in the soup is definitely the best part. I started by using a spoon, but a long, sharp bread knife ended up working the best.
  
• Toast some of the seeds you scoop out from the middle and sprinkle them on top of your serving.
• We doubled the garlic because we are such garlic fiends. Don't be afraid to experiment a little.
• Pepper is your best friend in this recipe.

Obviously we made this using soy milk and vegetable stock. It came out delicious! Serve with a nice chunk of thick, crusty bread.