{"id":242,"date":"2014-01-20T21:02:26","date_gmt":"2014-01-20T21:02:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.downdogsaltydog.com\/?p=242"},"modified":"2015-07-08T16:06:57","modified_gmt":"2015-07-08T16:06:57","slug":"pumpkin-101-and-creamy-pumpkin-soup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.downdogsaltydog.com\/?p=242","title":{"rendered":"Pumpkin 101 and Creamy Pumpkin Soup"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Gorgeous!\u00a0 Besides that, pumpkins are full of beta carotene, fiber and tons of nutrients.\u00a0 This one was used for decorating at the studio (and one\u00a0awesome Halloween workout)\u00a0where I teach Pilates.\u00a0 You can buy special cooking pumpkins that are smaller and easier to manage.\u00a0 However, I hate waste and I do love a challenge, so I now have several of these bad boys.\u00a0 (Thanks, Weavermans!)\u00a0 First, we must get it into manageable-sized chunks.\u00a0 I took my sharpest kitchen knife and began slicing downward from the top.\u00a0 \"photo<\/a><\/p>\n

Continue doing this all the way around the pumpkin, then, make a short cut at the top below the stem to connect the long cuts\u00a0and you will have pumpkin wedges.\u00a0 \"photo<\/a>\u00a0Using a large spoon, scrape out the seeds and stringy fibers.\u00a0 (Don’t throw them away – we need them later on for homemade granola!)\u00a0 \"photo<\/a>\u00a0 \"photo<\/a><\/p>\n

Once you have all the insides cleaned out, place your pumpkin wedges into a large roasting pan and place into a pre-heated 400 degree oven.\u00a0 \"photo<\/a>\u00a0This will need to roast for about an hour.\u00a0 When the flesh is tender enough to pierce easily with a fork, just turn the oven off.\u00a0 Leave the door closed and let the pumpkin sit until it’s cool enough to work with – about another 45 minutes to an hour.\u00a0 It will have browned in some place and softened considerably by this time.\u00a0 \"photo<\/a><\/p>\n

Take a wedge and use another large spoon to scoop as close to the skin as you can and remove the delicious pumpkin flesh.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>\"photo<\/a>\u00a0You can see there are still some connective fibers left over from the seed removal.\u00a0 That’s alright.\u00a0 Everything is tender and they won’t even be detectable.\u00a0 With all sections scraped, you end up with a LOT of perfectly golden, tender pumpkin that beats the socks off canned for flavor and texture in any recipe you have for pumpkin.<\/p>\n

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And, since we have already gone this far.\u00a0 And, since you KNOW how much I adore soup.\u00a0 Let’s just make some right quick.<\/p>\n

Into a large stock pan, place 2-3 Tbsp. of fat.\u00a0 (I am using chicken fat, but butter, coconut oil or a combo are just fine.)\u00a0 Add 2 big pinches of turmeric to enhance the beautiful golden color and add in some fabulous anti-oxidants plus 1 tsp. salt and 1\/4 tsp. pepper.<\/p>\n

Now, the aromatics.\u00a0 I used 1\/2 red onion, roughly chopped and 4-5 sticks of celery, roughly chopped.\u00a0 Add to pan on medium – high heat.<\/p>\n

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I am making 10 servings (about 1 cup each)\u00a0of soup.\u00a0 If you wish to make less, or more, adjust accordingly.<\/p>\n

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Once your aromatics are tender, add the pumpkin flesh (in my case, about 7-8 cups).\u00a0\u00a0 The pumpkin is already cooked, we just want this all to come together.\u00a0 We need liquid and decadence:\u00a0 organic coconut milk!\u00a0\"photo<\/a>\"photo<\/a><\/p>\n

Perfect.\u00a0 Put the whole can in there.\u00a0 Then, 2-3 cups of chicken broth.\u00a0\u00a0 \"photo<\/a>\u00a0 The coconut milk will soften and add unbelievable creaminess and up the satiety factor by a zillion.\u00a0 When everything has come up to a simmer, check and see if your consistency is about right.\u00a0 Remove from heat and whip out your immersion blender.\u00a0 Blend until perfect.\u00a0 \"photo<\/a><\/p>\n

Taste for seasonings and adjust to your preference.\u00a0 Serve and bask in the glory!\u00a0 \"photo<\/a><\/p>\n

Note:\u00a0 This can easily be made vegan.\u00a0 Use coconut oil for fat and vegetable broth or water for additional liquid.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gorgeous!\u00a0 Besides that, pumpkins are full of beta carotene, fiber and tons of nutrients.\u00a0 This one was used for decorating at the studio (and one\u00a0awesome Halloween workout)\u00a0where I teach Pilates.\u00a0 You can buy special cooking pumpkins that are smaller and easier to manage.\u00a0 However, I hate waste and I do love a challenge, so I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[26,16,19],"class_list":["post-242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-bali-friendly","tag-high-fiber","tag-vegan-friendly"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.downdogsaltydog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.downdogsaltydog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.downdogsaltydog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.downdogsaltydog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.downdogsaltydog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=242"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.downdogsaltydog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":262,"href":"http:\/\/www.downdogsaltydog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242\/revisions\/262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.downdogsaltydog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.downdogsaltydog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.downdogsaltydog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}