For the past 2 days I’ve been stumped by a vegetable, (well actually a fruit) - a pumpkin. Not because of its size or it’s iconic status as a Halloween symbol. I had simply forgotten what a pumpkin really is. I’ve cooked them many times before, creating thick hearty soups and deliciously spiced pies. For some reason I was having trouble figuring out what else I could do with a pumpkin, so I went back to my time in The Netherlands. There was no Halloween and the Dutch loved eating pumpkin for what it was, a delicious vegetable/fruit.

As the days get shorter and colder (snow out west and northern Ontario, way too soon for that!), a hearty filling soup is a great meal. This soup can be served at dinner or can easily be re-heated at work. It can also be turned into a great vegetarian meal by replacing the chicken broth with a vegetable broth. You could also go very "Bobby Flay" and serve it in a hollowed out pumpkin shell.