Thai Coconut Curry Pumpkin Soup

We had so many pumpkins left over from our fall decorations and my slightly obsessive need to buy fresh squash from the farmers stalls before they closed for the year that it was time I did something with them.

After checking out a few things online about making my own puree and set to work. All I did was cut them open, scoop out the innards and slice into wedges and bake skin side up in a 350 degree oven for around 50 minutes. Once cooled I peeled off the skins and threw them in the food processor and pressed the on button. And let it do it's stuff. It changed pitch when it was done - like there were no more lumps to work through and it spun easy in the liquefying puree. And then I just measured out cup sized portions into freezer bags and popped into the freezer. (some directions I read up on suggested straining the puree, but I'm all for leaving out messy steps like that for an easier life - and I really don't think it needs it)

So now I have wonderful fresh puree. And I gotta say - don't buy canned puree ever again - I know it's pure, has nothing added etc etc but this tastes so.much.better and really is ridiculously easy!

It didn't quite all fit in the freezer (What with my freezey canned tomatoes and half a moose that hubby brought back from his hunting trip in the plains of northern Alberta last month - nothing like fresh, organic meat!!) so I decided to make some soup.

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups pumpkin puree
• 1.25 cups of stock (I used chicken, but veggie would be great too!)
• 1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
• 1/2 small onion (finely chopped)
• 1 green chili (finely chopped)
• 1 inch cube fresh ginger chopped
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1/4 cup brown rice (uncooked)
• 1 Tbsp Thai green curry paste

Directions

1. Saute the onion and garlic until lightly brown
2. Add pumpkin, stock, garlic, onion, chili and ginger to a blender and blend until smooth
3. Add to a saucepan along with the rice, coconut milk and curry paste and heat slowly for around 1/2 hour or until rice is cooked (I actually turned mine off after 20 mins and came back a couple of hours later - the residual heat, and being sat in liquid was enough to cook the rice)
4. Bring to temperate ready for serving
5. Garnish with some fresh cilantro and black pepper

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This is my final week at home before heading away for the holidays. As far as my menu planning goes, its simply a case of using up what's in the fridge and pantry! We've got a couple of leftovers meals in the freezer from a few weeks back (Taco Casserole and Veggie Lasagna) and I could really use the space and my Tupperwares back so they'll be on the menu. We also have a date night meal out planned, and the rest will probably be soups and salads (with potatoes - we have lots of potatoes to use up for some reason!!)

I'm linking up (for the last time this year!) to Jill and Laura's Menu Planning Challenge.