Falling in Love With Soup

I have recently discovered that, among other things, I truly enjoy the art of cooking and love to test my culinary skills as often as possible.  I grab hold of recipes that spark my interest and sound delicious and worth the time it takes to cook them (of course, why would I make something unappealing?).  My latest masterpiece was my uncle's cheesecake, which I made for Thanksgiving, with remains still safely stored in my fridge.   Oh-Em-Gee.  This thing was freggin' HUGE.  And creamy.  And full of goodness and all that is divine.

Now I've got to figure out how to do that chocolate ganache on top.

But I'm not writing about cheesecake tonight.  I'm here to tell you about soup.  Usually, soup for me comes out of a can, the contents of which are poured into a small pot, and placed on a burner.  However, during my two-day Thanksgiving-fest last week, I came across a lovely recipe for Spicy Pumpkin Soup, courtesy of my lovely aunt and Rachael Ray.  Of course, feel free to check out the plain and simple directions via the Food Network.  My rendition may get complicated...we shall see.

You begin this oh-so-yummy soup by finely chopping up a medium sized yellow onion and two ribs of celery.  If you have a food processor, it makes the chopping easy.  And if you inherited it from your uncle, you can think about him while you cook.
Don't forget to wash the celery before going at it with the knife.  You don't want dirt in your soup.
In a large pot twirl some extra virgin olive oil around in the bottom (I did two spins, Rachael says just one turn of the pan) and add 2 tablespoons of butter (again, I was generous).  Put the burner on medium high heat.  Watch the butter melt and savor the scent.  When you can no longer distinguish the butter from the oil, add your chopped veggies, plus a fresh bay leaf.  Add some salt and pepper, too.

It begins...

Let your veggies cook a bit, until they are soft and the onion is translucent.  Add three tablespoons of flour, two teaspoons of ground thyme, and a few shakes of hot sauce.  (I like it a bit hot, so I was generous again.  You may add to your own taste.)  Mix--it will be a bit clumpy, this is okay.  Cook for about three minutes.
Next, add 6 cups of chicken broth (a 48-ounce can) and whisk merrily as your concoction starts to look like soup and smell like Thanksgiving.  Let it come to a happy bubble.
Open a can of Pumpkin puree.  Smile, and, with a big ole' spoon, scoop the pumpkin into the broth mixture, whisking it together in between scoops.

Your soup will thicken and turn a rustic shade of orange.  Inhale and smile.

Let this sit and marry for about ten minutes on medium low heat.

While the soup is sitting ceremoniously over the burner, begin your relish.
Grab an apple.

Cut it up.
If you are still rejoicing over your food processor, shred the apple along with a quarter of an onion.  Otherwise, love your knife.  Rachael calls for a red onion.  My red onion was questionable, so after disposing of it, I used a white one.
Take your bits of apple and onion and place them in a bowl together.  Add two table spoons of lemon juice.

I like fresh stuff, so I just squeezed half of a lemon over the bowl.
The recipe calls for dried sweetened cranberries, which I did not have.  But I did have pomegranate seeds.  I took a handful and squeezed those out over the bowl, too.  (My relish was a bit juicy).  Add a teaspoon of chili powder (I used ground Cayenne pepper), a generous drizzle of honey, and a half teaspoon of ground cinnamon.

Oh, my.

Mix it up.

The end result looks a bit unappealing, but smells divine.

Go back to your soup.  Add two cups of heavy cream, keeping in mind that generosity is key this holiday season.  Whisk with a happy face and watch your soup turn a light amber.

When the soup has a consistent color, it is ready to serve.  Of course, you may put the burner on low and wait for your honey to come home.

Or not.

When you are ready to dine, ladle the soup in to a shallow bowl and add a scoop of relish.  Enjoy, while giving thanks for such fabulous recipes and the joy of making your own soup.