first things first - who's with me on national beer drinking day? it's today. so grab a cold one (not at 9 am...how about about 5 pm) and cheers!

but on to todays post...

uh yes. yes. i too am obsessed with fall. is it a blogger thing? or just anyone who likes wearing scarves // layering // boots // pumpkin // crisp mornings // the feeling that farming season is coming to an end.

okay, that last one is just me. but yes. my farmer is rounding out his last cutting of hay, then we have corn harvest, then we're done. at least as done as we can be.

luckily, to make things super simple, the girls' birthdays coincide perfectly with my farmer's busy season and we have many-a-projet to work on around the house to get ready for that.

regardless...i wanted to share a delicious recipe that i whipped up this weekend full of all the pumpkin gloriousness you could hope for. (plus it has a little kick, which i'm all about.)

P U M P K I N  S O U P

 ingredients

+ 28 oz pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling. that would be so disgusting.)
+ 6 cups chicken stock
+ 1 yellow onion - diced
+ 2 cups half + half (or cream or whole milk...i've used each and they are all tasty.)
+ 2 ribs celery - finely chopped
+ jalepeno (i use the sliced and jarred version as opposed to slicing fresh. so much more convenient.)
+ 2 whole basil leaves
+ 2 tbsp butter
+ 1 tbsp olive oil
+ 3 tbsp flour
+ 2 tbsp thyme


1 | start by chopping your onion, celery stalks, and jalepeno, then melt your butter and add your olive oil in a large soup pot on medium // high. once your butter is melted, add your chopped veggies and bay leaves, turn the heat down to medium and let those cook for about seven minutes. season with salt and pepper. (i'm a salt fan, so i usually add quite about of ground sea salt.)

2 | once your veggies have soaked up all the glorious butter and olive oil, add in your flour and thyme - stir it all together. cook for 1 - 2 minutes.

3 | whisk in your chicken stalk and bring to a bubble.

4 | more whisking! whisk in your pumpkin puree and keep whisking until it's completely smooth.

5 | simmer your soup for 10 minutes to thicken it up! now add your half + half.

6 | reduce your heat to low until it's ready to serve!

my sister really likes to serve this soup with a grilled cheese made on sourdough, and you would never ever catch me saying that the combo isn't absolutely delicious. you could even try a fancy cheese (swiss // gruyere // smoked cheddar) if you're feeling very adult-ish.

i really really wish i could remember where i snagged the original recipe. i've modified it here and there over the past few years. i think the original called for hot sauce...which would make this really spicy. give it a shot?