Rainbeau Ridge Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients:
1 large pumpkin (good cooking pumpkin, not a carving one!)
Olive oil spray
1 Onion, chopped to ½ inch cubes
2 Carrots, chopped to ½ inch slices
2 ribs of Celery, chopped to ½ inch slices
Three cups water or soup stock
Potato, cut into 1 inch cubes
Salt, to taste
Cinnamon, to taste

Directions:
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Cut open the pumpkin at the top, scoop out seeds and stringy insides and then cut remaining pumpkin into two halves (save the seeds to toast later!)
• Cover sheet pan with foil and spray lightly with olive oil spray
• Place cut side of pumpkin pieces onto sheet pan and place in oven
• Roast for 1 hour, but check after 30 and 45 minutes to ensure nothing’s burning
• While pumpkin is roasting, spray large soup pot with olive oil spray
• Add onions, carrots and celery to pot and simmer over medium heat until softened (about 30 minutes)
• Add water or soup stock
• Add potato
• Bring to boil, then set on medium heat for 15 minutes
• Remove pumpkin from oven, let cool until it can be handled and then use spoon to scoop the flesh into the soup pot, careful not to take any skin
• Simmer entire pot for 30 more minutes and then turn off pot
• Process with food processor in batches until very smooth
• Add salt and cinnamon to taste
• Reheat to serve hot
• Enjoy!

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Be sure to remove all stringy pumpkin parts so you just have the seeds.
• Rinse with water and then pat dry
• Line baking sheet with foil and they spray lightly with olive oil spray
• Pour pumpkin seeds onto the tray and spread so that they’re all in one layer
• Spray seeds lightly with olive oil spray
• Sprinkle with salt
• Place in oven for up to 10 minutes, watching carefully so they don’t burn
• Remove from oven, allow to cool
• Enjoy!