[Curried Pumpkin Soup with Ginger and Pear]

2. Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, pear and ginger and cook until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Stir in curry powder and flour until well combined. Slowly stir in the stock. Stir in the pumpkin and honey. Simmer soup 25-30 minutes. Stir in the cream; season with salt and pepper. If desired, top of soup could be garnished with a few thin slices of pear; a drizzle of cream; and small sprig of parsley.

4. To give this soup an Indian-style flare serve it with wedges of warm naan (Indian-style bread sold in our deli), or pappadums (crunchy, Indian-style bread available, uncooked, in our Asian foods aisle).

6. Add more or less curry powder depending on your fondness for spice. Apples could be used instead of pear. If you had fresh pumpkin puree on hand use it instead of canned. If you’re vegetarian, use vegetable stock instead of chicken. If you can’t have dairy, replace light cream with coconut milk.

8. Per Serving: about 157 calories, 5.1g protein, 7.8g fat (1.8g saturated), 18.4g carbohydrate, 3.4g dietary fibre, 6mg cholesterol, 527mg sodium. %RDI: 4% calcium, 14% iron, 137% vit A, 8% vit C, 9% folate.