For Halloween, I was given a white pumpkin by the lady in the pumpkin patch across the street from me. I had heard you can cook with a white pumpkin, so decided to try. My goal was to make a pumpkin pie. That only took two cups of puree so I had a lot of it left, and so I made soup with it.

I followed this recipe which I felt was standard. The soup looked good, but there was something missing the flavor. I tried adding more salt, and that improved it, then I added some fresh basil and blended it, and I could really taste the herb. I added a bit of honey, which was also okay. Afterwards, in separate bowls, I tried cumin and ginger, neither of which I liked.

I just took a sip of the chicken broth I used, which is the free range Pacific foods brand, and I have to admit it tastes a bit bland. It’s not really salty enough, and didn’t have a lot of chicken flavor. Maybe if I just used the usual not so good for you brands?

The pumpkin tasted great when I roasted it to get the flesh of it, so I know the basis of the soup is good. I need more marrowy base? I don’t know. I feel this way about butternut squash soup too. Well, I guess I’ll keep experimenting.