Mmmmm… Soup…..  I’ve been dreaming about soup for weeks, now.  It’s what happens to me towards the end of every season – I start thinking about the foods that are coming up.  Soups and stews and casseroles are on the horizon. Even more fresh-baked breads…  These are some of my most favorite foods – mainly because they generally don’t take recipes or cook books to create.  They tend to just come together with things in the kitchen.  That’s not to say that recipes are out for the next few months, but soups, stews, and the like are pretty instinctive for me.  Probably comes from being from a large family.  But I do find them to be the easiest things to make. Seriously, they’re pretty hard to screw up.

So tonight’s dinner was brought to us by that big ol’ pumpkin I cooked up yesterday.  I have pumpkin for days in the ‘fridge.  I’ll probably freeze some of it tomorrow – but I do have a couple of ideas to ponder first…

The soup tonight was based upon a recipe we created at work many moons ago.

Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup

• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 pork tenderloin, cubed
• 3 cups pumpkin puree
• 2 cups chunk pumpkin, cooked
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp chipotle powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• salt and pepper, to taste
• sour cream for topping

Saute onion until translucent.  Add cubed pork tenderloin and lightly brown.  Add spices and cook about a minute.

Add pumpkin puree, cream, and broth.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer.

Add black beans and cubed pumpkin and heat through.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

It’s rich, thick, and creamy, without being heavy.   It’s also really simple and lends itself to many different variations.   You can add curry powder instead of the chipotle, coconut milk instead of the cream.

Use chicken or beef – or neither and make it vegetarian with the addition of vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.  Throw in some other vegetables.

It’s the beauty of the season – anything goes!