halloween is just over a week away, and pumpkins are EVERYWHERE. and those bad boys are not just for decoration and pies!

now i’ve gone on and on about how i am not really a pumpkin spice fan, but i am really embracing the flavors this year. while i’m not about to go order a pumpkin spice latte, those pumpkin spice flavors (ginger, cinnamon, allspice & clove) really lend themselves so perfectly to a bounty of savory recipes.

but i’m using them in my favorite pumpkin preparation, soup. the texture of pumpkin can be a bit off-putting when cooked (part of the reason i am not a pumpkin pie fan) but when roasted and puréed in a soup, the flavors come through beautifully without textural issues. this soup is a great warming dish to be enjoyed all autumn long.

pumpkin spice soup

serves: 4-6

prep time: 10 minutes

cooking time: 1 hour

total time: 1 hour 10 minutes

ingredients: 3 lb pumpkin. 1 large brown onion, halved and sliced 1 inch thick. 3 tbs olive oil. 3 cloves garlic, smashed. 10 medium sized sage leaves, roughly chopped + a few extra thinly sliced for garnish. .5 cup blood orange juice (you can use regular orange if you have it). 4 cups chicken stock. .25 cup brown sugar. 1 tbs kosher salt. 1 tsp freshly ground pepper. 1 tsp cinnamon. .5 tsp ginger. .5 tsp ground cloves. .25 tsp all spice. .25 cup crumbled goat cheese for serving. crusty bread for serving. baking sheet. parchment paper. heavy pot. immersion blender, blender or food processor.

start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees f. half your pumpkin and scoop out all the guts and reserve them to make roasted gourd seeds. mix together the brown sugar, half the salt and pepper, the cinnamon, allspice, ginger and clove. line your baking sheet with parchment paper and place your onions and pumpkin halves on the sheet. sprinkle the inside and edges of the pumpkin as well as the onions with your spice mix.

drizzle the pumpkin and onions with the olive oil and mix it all up till the pumpkin and the onions are lightly coated with spice and oil. start with your pumpkin with the skin side down and roast the veggies for about 40 minutes. halfway through, flip your pumpkins so the skin side is facing up. when your pumpkins have roasted, heat your heavy pot over medium heat.

working carefully not to burn your fingers, scoop the pumpkin out of it’s shell or if you can, just peel the roasted shell away.

remove any overly cooked bits of onions and put the pumpkin pulp and onions in your pot.

when you start to hear the veggies sizzle, add in the garlic and sage leaves and stir well to combine. when the garlic becomes fragrant (about 1 minute),

pour in the orange juice and the rest of your salt and pepper.

stir well till the orange juice is absorbed and then pour in your chicken stock. bring the soup to a boil, and turn down the heat till you have a gentle simmer. simmer the liquid for 3-5 minutes and turn off the heat.

working in batches in a food processor or blender, or using your immersion blender, purée the soup till smooth.

serve topped with goat cheese, some sage with crust bread on the side for dipping.

xo, a

pumpkin spice soup

serves: 4-6

prep time: 10 minutes

cooking time: 1 hour

total time: 1 hour 10 minutes

ingredients: 3 lb pumpkin. 1 large brown onion, halved and sliced 1 inch thick. 3 tbs olive oil. 3 cloves garlic, smashed. 10 medium sized sage leaves, roughly chopped + a few extra thinly sliced for garnish. .5 cup blood orange juice (you can use regular orange if you have it). 4 cups chicken stock. .25 cup brown sugar. 1 tbs kosher salt. 1 tsp freshly ground pepper. 1 tsp cinnamon. .5 tsp ginger. .5 tsp ground cloves. .25 tsp all spice. .25 cup crumbled goat cheese for serving. crusty bread for serving. baking sheet. parchment paper. heavy pot. immersion blender, blender or food processor.

start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees f. half your pumpkin and scoop out all the guts and reserve them to make roasted gourd seeds. mix together the brown sugar, half the salt and pepper, the cinnamon, allspice, ginger and clove. line your baking sheet with parchment paper and place your onions and pumpkin halves on the sheet. sprinkle the inside and edges of the pumpkin as well as the onions with your spice mix. drizzle the pumpkin and onions with the olive oil and mix it all up till the pumpkin and the onions are lightly coated with spice and oil. start with your pumpkin with the skin side down and roast the veggies for about 40 minutes. halfway through, flip your pumpkins so the skin side is facing up. when your pumpkins have roasted, heat your heavy pot over medium heat. working carefully not to burn your fingers, scoop the pumpkin out of it’s shell or if you can, just peel the roasted shell away. remove any overly cooked bits of onions and put the pumpkin pulp and onions in your pot. when you start to hear the veggies sizzle, add in the garlic and sage leaves and stir well to combine. when the garlic becomes fragrant (about 1 minute), pour in the orange juice and the rest of your salt and pepper. stir well till the orange juice is absorbed and then pour in your chicken stock. bring the soup to a boil, and turn down the heat till you have a gentle simmer. simmer the liquid for 3-5 minutes and turn off the heat. working in batches in a food processor or blender, or using your immersion blender, purée the soup till smooth. serve topped with goat cheese, some sage with crust bread on the side for dipping.

when i was little, i NEVER had cake for my birthday. no no, i was not a deprived child. i just didn't like cake. i always asked for strawberry pie with whipped cream instead. cake in my mind meant something dry, lacking flavor with some very strange, artificial tasting frosting and usually some really crunchy sugar confetti that looked like it had been sitting on the shelf longer than i had been alive. so it is no wonder at all that i requested pie. 

somewhere along the way, i stored carrot cake into a mental file of things i didn't like. now as a cook, i realize that my list of foods i didn't like was actually a list of foods i had that weren't cooked well. as a kid, i had convinced myself lamb was gross because the only lamb i had ever eaten was cooked till it was fifty shads of grey and served with mint jelly. i won't tell you who ruined it for me (cough. grandma.). anyway, you get the picture. carrot cake had made its way to my naughty list. 

but man oh man, was i a fool. now that my cake business has picked up, i have started receiving heaps of requests for carrot cake. in the beginning, being that i thought i didn't care for carrot cake, i would steer clients in the direction of lemon or classic chocolate. but when a weeding client's favorite was carrot, i knew i had to get over my likes and dislikes and make a damn good carrot cake. so i went to my best baking resource. that same lamb cooking grandmother. all my earliest memories of baking are with her and most of my classic recipes are hers, so i knew she would have a winner. and man was i right!

carrot cake serves: 8-10
prep time: 10 minutes
active time: 5 minutes
baking time: 30-40 minutes
cooling + assembly time: 1 hour
total time: 2 hours
ingredients: 2 cups all purpose flour. 2 cups sugar. 1.25 cups vegetable oil. 4 eggs. 2 tsp baking powder. 1 tsp baking soda. 2 tsp cinnamon. 1 tsp allspice. 1 tsp kosher salt. 3 cups grated heirloom carrots (standard orange also work great if that is what you have). stand mixer with paddle attachment or hand blender. baking pans (either 2 8 inch rounds, 3 6 inch rounds or a 9 x 13). parchment for the bottom of your pans. nonstick cooking spray. cream cheese frosting for serving.

start by preheating the oven to 325 degrees f. in the bowl of your stand mixer or in a large bowl, combine the sugar and oil. mix until well combined. about 1-2 minutes. mix together your dry ingredients in a bowl. 

with the mixer on slow add in half of your dry ingredient followed by two of your eggs. 

when well combined, add in the rest of the dry ingredients and the remaining eggs. 

when well combined, start to add in your carrots. 

add in about half until combined and then pour in the rest. 

spray your baking pans and line them with parchment paper. 

pour your batter equally into the pans you are using. 

bake for 30-40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out of the center of each layer clean. 

remove the baking pans from the oven onto a cooling rack and allow them to cool to room temperature. remove the baking pans from the oven onto a cooling rack and allow them to cool to room temperature. 

use cream cheese frosting to frost your cake and serve or store in a cool place until time to serve. you can store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. 

xo, a
carrot cake
serves: 8-10
prep time: 10 minutes
active time: 5 minutes
baking time: 30-40 minutes
cooling + assembly time: 1 hour total time: 2 hours
ingredients: 2 cups all purpose flour. 2 cups sugar. 1.25 cups vegetable oil. 4 eggs. 2 tsp baking powder. 1 tsp baking soda. 2 tsp cinnamon. 1 tsp allspice. 1 tsp kosher salt. 3 cups grated heirloom carrots (standard orange also work great if that is what you have). stand mixer with paddle attachment or hand blender. baking pans (either 2 8 inch rounds, 3 6 inch rounds or a 9 x 13). parchment for the bottom of your pans. nonstick cooking spray. cream cheese frosting for serving.  2 tsp cinnamon. 1 tsp allspice. 1 tsp kosher salt. 3 cups grated heirloom carrots (standard orange also work great if that is what you have). stand mixer with paddle attachment or hand blender. baking pans (either 2 8 inch rounds, 3 6 inch rounds or a 9 x 13). parchment for the bottom of your pans. nonstick cooking spray. cream cheese frosting for serving.
start by preheating the oven to 325 degrees f. in the bowl of your stand mixer or in a large bowl, combine the sugar and oil. mix until well combined. about 1-2 minutes.mix together your dry ingredients in a bowl. with the mixer on slow add in half of your dry ingredient followed by two of your eggs. when well combined, add in the rest of the dry ingredients and the remaining eggs. when well combined, start to add in your carrots. add in about half until combined and then pour in the rest. spray your baking pans and line them with parchment paper. pour your batter equally into the pans you are using. bake for 30-40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out of the center of each layer clean. remove the baking pans from the oven onto a cooling rack and allow them to cool to room temperature. use cream cheese frosting to frost your cake and serve or store in a cool place until time to serve. you can store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.