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Enjoy savory side of pumpkin spice (with a twist)

Recipe: Creamy spiced pumpkin soup warms the season

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED NOV 22, 2020

Creamy spiced pumpkin soup is as pretty as it tastes. (Photos: Debbie Arrington)

It's pumpkin spice season! This creamy pumpkin soup substitutes curry powder and turmeric for the usual cinnamon and cloves.

If you grow pumpkins, you likely have some mashed pumpkin pulp in the freezer. (Of course, canned pumpkin works in this recipe, too; this soup is a variation of a recipe popularized on the back of pumpkin cans more than 30 years ago.)

Got fresh pumpkin? Steam or zap pumpkin pieces in the microwave; scoop out the flesh with a spoon and mash.

Orange-fleshed winter squash such as butternut or acorn also work in this recipe.

Creamy spiced pumpkin soup

Makes 3 to 4 servings

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
2 big dashes crushed red pepper (or more to taste)
1-1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup mashed pumpkin
1/4 cup cream
1/4 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Chopped chives (optional)

Instructions:

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Sauté onions until soft and translucent.

Add garlic powder, curry powder, turmeric and crushed red pepper; stir and cook until well blended, about 1 minute. Add broth and bring to gentle boil. Adjust heat and let simmer 5 minutes.

Add pumpkin, cream and milk. Stir and bring to gentle boil again. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring often.
Season to taste (depending on the broth, it may need nothing).

Serve hot, garnished with chives.

Note: For a vegan version, omit the cream and milk; use margarine and vegetable broth.

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RECIPE

A recipe for preparing delicious meals from the bounty of the garden.

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Garden Checklist for week of May 5

Survey your garden after the May 4 rainstorm. Heavy rain and gusty winds can break the neck of large flowers such as roses. Also:

* Keep an eye on new transplants or seedlings; they could take a pounding from the rain.

* Watch out for powdery mildew. Warmth following moist conditions can cause this fungal disease to “bloom,” too. If you see a leaf that looks like it’s dusted with powdered sugar, snip it off.

* After the storm, start setting out tomato transplants, but wait on the peppers and eggplants (they want warmer nights). Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, radishes and squash.

* Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias. Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom.

* Don’t wait; plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.

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