Hello pumpkin lover,

Well, the days are getting shorter, the mornings are getting darker, and the weather, well... it's wet. It's officially fall in Vancouver. I've been making a lot of soups the last few weeks. It's an easy meal to throw in lots of different ingredients making a big batch that you can eat it all week is a huge time saver. If you read any of my posts last fall, you know I'm a little nutso for pumpkin... in fact, I may or may not have eaten a slice of pumpkin pie the size of my head last night for dinner...

Ok. I did.

Deciding that I should at least eat some vegetables for dinner tonight, I got my hands dirty, jumped outside my comfort zone, left the recipe books alone and experimented with some of my favourite ingredients. The end result? A vegan pumpkin, ginger, coconut curry soup.

2 tbsp coconut oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic, chopped or minced

1 thumb of ginger, chopped

2 tbsp curry (or more if you like)

1 tbsp cumin seeds

1 tsp ginger powder

1/8 tsp cayenne (optional)

1/4 tsp Kosher salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

1 can of organic pumpkin

3 cups of organic low sodium vegetable broth

1/2 cup of organic coconut milk

1/2 cup of cashews (soaked and drained)

1. chop your onions, garlic and ginger, and combine/grind your spices in a mortar and pestel (if you don't have one, you can just combine in a dish!)

2. melt the coconut oil, adding the onions, garlic and ginger until slightly soft. Add all your dry spices and continue to saute until soft

3. Add vegetable broth and canned pumpkin

4. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 25 minutes

5. Remove from heat and pour into Vitamix (or other highspeed blender) with cashews and blend until smooth

6. Pour back in pot and pour in coconut milk (because I also used some cashews, I only used half a cup but you can use more if you like!)

7. Feel free to throw a garnish on top. I added some red pepper for colour but cilantro would be a great option, too. Serve, and inhale.

There you have it! It's rich, so you'll probably find you won't need a huge portion to feel full. I served mine alongside a big kale caesar salad. You'll be amazed at the rich and creamy texture of the soup, even though there's no dairy in it. I've been having a lot of fun experimenting with vegan dishes as I'm constantly impressed by the flavours we can get without the use of any animal protein.

In need of more pumpkin inspiration? Check out my

chai spiced pumpkin muffins

and post-workout

pumpkin pie smoothie

recipes!

And remember...it's okay to eat pie for dinner,