Pumpkin Coconut Cream Soup with Cinnamon Croutons

After perusing my new favorite grocery store (The Golden Mango), I found quartered pumpkins for cooking in the refrigerated produce section.  I obviously could not turn this offer down (especially when 3 pounds worth was only $2.00)!!!  With Vegetarian Week quickly looming on the blog, I opted for it, and figured I would find something to do with it.  I didn't want to go the obvious route of pie or bread, and finally remembered that there is such a thing as pumpkin soup!  I wanted to find a balance between sweet and savory though, especially since my dad and sister can be a little picky sometimes!  They really ended up enjoying it, and we are now looking forward to making it the week after Thanksgiving to have with leftover turkey sandwiches!  I also almost forgot to mention that this actually ended up being a vegan recipe!

Pumpkin Coconut Cream Soup with Cinnamon Croutons
Yields 6 servings


To Prepare the Soup 
1. Puree 3 pounds of pumpkin.  If you are going to puree them from scratch, you will need to cut the pumpkin into manageable pieces, and remove all of the seeds and goopy stringy bits!  Leave the skin on though, as it peels off much more easily after it is baked.  Bake the pumpkin in a casserole dish at 350 degrees for an hour and a half!  When the pumpkin is done cooking, cool it, peel it, and puree it either in a food processor or in a food mill.  If you do not want to go through this process, use 3 pounds of pumpkin from the grocery store!  Just be sure it is pumpkin puree and not the pie filling though!

2. Start boiling the pumpkin puree in a large pot.
3. Add in a can of cream of coconut (Approximately 16 ounces).  If you do not like coconut, you could use regular milk that is sweetened with a little brown sugar, or you could use vanilla or almond soy milk to keep this recipe vegan!
4. Add in a can of vegetable broth (Approximately 16 ounces).
5. Add in 1 heaping teaspoon of curry powder.
6. Add in 1/2 a teaspoon of ground nutmeg.
7. Add in 1/2 a teaspoon of cinnamon.
8. Add in 1/2 a teaspoon of ground ginger.
9. Let all of this simmer over medium heat.

To Prepare the Croutons 
1. Slice 6 slices of wheat bread into thirds.  Be sure to use a vegan friendly bread if you are keeping this recipe vegan!
2. Place them on a baking sheet.
3. Sprinkle them with cinnamon and sea salt.

4. Bake at 350 degrees in the oven for approximately 10 minutes, or until they are golden brown and crunchy!