Welcome back to pumpkin season! Life’s been movin’ & shakin’ over here in the Eat, Drink, Be Healthy kitchen since my last post. I went back to Peru for my third visit of 2018 in August, and there, my boyfriend proposed to me! If you haven’t been following along on social media, Alex is a Peruvian chef and makes the most amazing dishes – and inspires me to become a better cook myself!
After two and half weeks of an amazing time in beautiful Peru (including a camping/hiking weekend and lots of salsa dancing), I came back engaged and ready to hit the ground running – quite literally.
I was all registered and training for my first ever full marathon. Training that included, by the way, a half marathon in Lima, Peru, and even got all the way up to the longest 20-mile long run.
A couple injuries later (I didn’t know I was so clumsy, but I sure do fall a lot), I can no longer run the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon this year. But that doesn’t mean I’m done running! As soon as my rolled ankle injury heals, I’ll start hitting the pavement again, and will look for a marathon to train for in spring of 2019. And leading up that, I’ll definitely be running shorter races and distances to get my body (and mind) into the swing of things.
And what better way to do that than with a virtual 5k?! Level Up Virtual Runs has a Pumpkin King 5k that anyone can run or walk in the month of October! Register and complete the 5k during October – wherever you are – and you’ll get this sweet Nightmare Before Christmas medal in the mail to hang among all your race bling! Use the code PUMPKINKING for 10% off your registration of this Virtual Run before the end of October.
In that same theme, I’ve whipped up an easy and nutritious pumpkin soup. Savory, spiced pumpkin is swirled together with flavorful vegetable stock and fluffy rice. Serve it all with a drizzle of nutty roasted walnut oil and extra black pepper, and enjoy while watching your favorite Halloween movie!
Pumpkin Rice Soup
Serves 4
- 1 C brown rice + 2 C water + 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 15oz can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 small dried chili peppers
- 3 C vegetable stock + 1 C water
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp powdered MSG (optional, but delicious)
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Roasted walnut oil, to serve
Start cooking the rice in a rice cooker, instant pot, or on the stove top. Cook according to package directions.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a dutch oven on the stove over medium-high. Saute the onion, carrot, and garlic 7-10 minutes. Stir in the pumpkin, bay leaves, chili peppers, vegetable stock, and water. Cover and bring soup to boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to simmer and let cook for 20 minutes.
Stir in the cooked rice, smoked paprika, chili powder, MSG, salt, and pepper. Add another cup of water if you like a thinner soup, and return the cover to continue simmering another 5 minutes.
Serve soup into bowls and drizzle with roasted walnut oil (a high quality olive oil would also work). Enjoy hot!