Soup is the new juice

I was happy to read recently that soup is the latest version of juicing and juice cleanses. I am not a fan of cleanses and find them utterly painful with little to no results. This time of year is perfect for soup, for many reasons but mostly because it’s cold outside. Having soup for dinner is a good way to eat lighter and drop those post holiday pounds. My favorite all time soup is Totilla Soup(see recipes), but some of my other go to options are potato and pumkin soup. Both soups are easy to make, budget friendly and neither require lengthy prep or cooking time. Pumkins used as indoor decor in the fall months, can be easily prepped and frozen for making soup. Remove the outer rind and the inner flesh, then chop the meat of the pumkin into cubes and freeze.

Pumpkin Soup

Saute 1 medium onion(diced) and a 1/2 stick butter

Peel and dice a 1.5 lb pumpkin, add to onions & butter

Add salt, pepper(to taste) & cumin and paprika(1 teaspoon each)

Add two cloves garlic (minced) and 1 bay leaf

When pumkin is slightly browned, add 5 to 6 cups chicken or beef stock.

Boil until pumpkin is soft and blend with emulsion blender.

Optional:

Add cream in final cooking stage (after blending soup) to make extra decadent.
Top with pumkin oil and / or seeds
Whip cream and add a dollup on top of soup

This is a very traditional Austrian dish and one of my favorites. We bring the pumpkin oil back with us from Austria but you can find it in higher end grocers here in the US.