Healthy Thanksgiving Alternatives: Spicy Pumpkin Soup

Thanksgiving is around the corner.

Even though the Queens County Farm Museum is in our backyard, we could not lead lives that are less pastoral.

We've already shared how to get your quick flavor fix in Northeast Queens. But Thanksgiving is a time to step away from the grab-and-go food, and be brought back to a time when land was a family's bounty.

Here's a recipe to help get you into the spirit of the harvest holiday. We'll be posting more in kind as the holiday approaches.

Recipe #1

Pumpkin Soup

Pumpkin has a sweet and rich flavor that makes it perfect for a fall holiday like Thanksgiving. One of the healthiest ways to prepare pumpkin is to make it in a soup. Pumpkin provides a wealth of health benefits, specifically an extra dose of vitamin A and fiber that contribute to a balanced body. It's an excellent starter or side dish for a Thanksgiving meal since it instantly warms you up and gets those sweet and savory holiday flavors on your palette.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup water
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 8 ounces of pumpkin puree
• 1 cup of unsalted vegetable broth
• ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon of ground nutmeg
• 1 cup of fat-free milk
• 1/8 teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper

Directions

1. Heat a ¼ cup of the water in a large saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add onion to the saucepan and cook for about 3 minutes, or until tender.
3. Add the pumpkin, broth, cinnamon, nutmeg and the remaining water to the saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil.
4. Once the mixture boils, reduce the heat to a simmer for 5 minutes. As the mixture simmers, stir in the milk.
5. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with fresh ground black pepper, then serve.