Peppy Fulfills His Purpose

I love autumn.  It is by far my favorite season.  I love the cool crispness in the air, the earthy tones of gold everywhere and the smell of fireplaces in the evening when the sun sets much earlier than just a month or two before. 
I missed this sensation when I lived in Uganda.  I called those years my "one long summer" and the sun stayed out for the same twelve hours every day.  Ireland in October is marked with the cold rain that brings winter winds quickly.  With the unusual stretch of warmth we are having here in Ireland now however, it seems that God is giving me a longer autumn and I am doing my best to savor it while it lasts.

I love cooking soups, especially in the cooler months.  Once winter comes I prefer full-on stews, but this is the perfect time for those one-pot wonders that provide several days of homemade warmth.  Today I was wrecked and too busy to really cook, so I made the easiest of them all with a little gourd grown in my Hamer friend's organic garden.

Peppy the Pumpkin first came on the scene as a Family Service Sunday visual aid at DCF.  For a little while the poor p'kin has been sitting on my counter, his final purpose unfulfilled and beginning to look a little less peppy.  I could have popped the pumpkin in the microwave to make things really quick, but it was no more involved to give a gourmet going out, so I decided on making Roasted Pumpkin Soup.  It was a quick fix into the hot oven, with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper and some fresh sage and rosemary from my summer container garden.  I also seasoned the seeds to roast with the pieces.

Since I had been so busy most of the day, I used the thirty minutes to catch up on emails and such.  Before I knew it, everything was done.  Now this may seem like a lot of work when you think of roasting and all that, but remember, all I really did was cut.  My actual labours had taken all of three minutes so far.  Another five minutes peeling and cubing the pumpkin made this a breeze.

The pieces went into a blender along with some chicken stock.  I used a cheat with one bouillon cube in boiling water.  Add salt to taste and WHIRRRRRRRR...

I threw some fresh parsley, also from the Hamers, along with a wee dash of nutmeg and freshly ground pepper.  The seasoned seeds made for a great crunch on top.  Best of all, it tastes like autumn.  Sigh.

Tell me, do you have a fave autumn food?  Leave a comment to dish the details!