Pumpkin Chowder

This recipe is from the website www.mealsmatter.org This is a pretty simple soup, other than the peeling and chopping of the pumpkin, potatoes and onions being a little time consuming. The flavors are very autumnal, and it went great with the fresh Irish Brown Bread. I recommend it for a cozy meal on a cool fall evening.

Ingredients

1/2 pound Thick-cut bacon, diced

2 cups Chopped onion

2 teaspoons Curry powder

2 tablespoons Flour

1 pound Pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch chunks

2 Large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

4 cups Chicken stock

1 cup Half and half (or milk)

Kosher salt and ground pepper

Garnish: Toasted pumpkin seeds / chopped green onion

Preparation

Put the bacon in a large soup pot over low heat and cook gently until it releases its fat, about 5 minutes.

Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.

Add the flour and the curry powder, stirring until the onions and bacon are coated.

Add the pumpkin, potatoes and stock. Increase the heat to medium-low and cook until the pumpkin and potato are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

Add the half and half and season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 5 minutes, or until heated through. Do not allow to boil. Serve the soup in warm bowls, garnished with pumpkin seeds and a little green onion.

Notes:

I don't have any bacon, so I used the last two Hot Links Sausages instead. They were a very tasty substitution.

I grew the pumpkin in my community garden. The potatoes are from Figueroa Produce.

It took far longer for pumpkin and potatoes to soften, more like 30-40 minutes. As I have said before, things taking much longer to cook is a common problem for me, and therefore might be entirely my fault. If I figure out what it is, I will surely let you know.

This next note is my highest point of pride so far.... I made my own Curry Powder. I will post the recipe next.

The chicken stock is what I made a couple days ago.

I used organic whole milk instead of half and half.