Ken wrote me to say that he got his mom to make him the pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving. Its best straight on a fork from the fridge several days after baking. My comment back to you Ken would be to get your mom to try this recipe for your next holiday gathering: I made it the day before Thanksgiving and put it in the fridge overnight and the depth to the soup was incredible. Don't let the ingredients scare you, the taste is out of this world.

Spiced Pumpkin Soup

2 tablespoons butter

3/4 cup chopped carrot

3/4 cup chopped celery

3/4 cup ripe banana

1/2 onion chopped

1 clove garlic minced

1 bay leaf

1 whole clove (or ground is fine too)

5 cups chicken broth (I happened to have homemade turkey broth that I used)

2 cups canned pure pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)

3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk

1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

i teasoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground corriander

1/2 teasppon dried sage (or a few leaves of fresh sage...makes all the difference)

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teasppon yellow curry

sprinkling of toasted pecans before serving

Melt the butter and add the next seven ingredients and sautee until the vegetables are soft. Add 1 cup of broth after 10 minutes or so and then take off heat,remove bayleaf, cool slightly and add vegetable mix to blender. Blend until smooth and put back in pot. Add the rest of the stock and all the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil, stirring so as not to scald the milks. Let it slow boil on simmer for 10-20 minutes. If soup is smooth you are done, if not, let cool and reprocess until smooth. Best if made the day before, refridgerated and reheated.

Enjoy,

Seth