Homemade pumpkin & apple soup.

Lately I have been dying to try cooking with pumpkin, simply for the fact everywhere is selling them and I've never tried one before. I spent quite a while deciding what I wanted to make with my pumpkin - a pie, a cake, a soup, a salad - so many to choose from! I finally decided to make a soup as veggie soups are normally pretty healthy, everyone loves a good soup and today is definitely "soup weather" (cold and rainy).

This is the first soup I have ever made from scratch (with some help from my lovely boyfriend - thank yooou!). I always thought soup would be hard to make, but it was surprisingly easy. This soup was so delicious! The cider really gave it that kick. Such a unique taste - really hard to explain.. But trust me, it is amazing - even my boyfriend loved it!

This recipe serves 4 people and only has approx. 177kcal per serving!

Ingredients:

- 1 small pumpkin, peeled, de-seeded and cubed

- 3 small/medium apples, peeled and chopped

- 1 small/medium brown onion, diced

- 2 garlic cloves, chopped

- 500ml (1 pint) of vegetable stock

- 250ml (1/2 pint) of dry cider

- 1 tbsp olive oil

- freshly ground salt and pepper

(If you aren't happy with using cider, you can always substitute it with 250ml (1/2 pint) of not-from-concentrate apple juice).

Method:

1. Get a large saucepan and heat up the oil. Cook the onions and garlic in the pan for 2-4 minutes, until the onions are slightly translucent.

2. Now add in the pumpkin, apple and season to taste. Cook for another 2-4 minutes.

3. Pour in the cider, and cook for 1 minute. Then add in the vegetable stock. Bring everything to the boil. Once boiling, turn down the heat and allow to simmer for 25-30 minutes.

4. After it's finished simmering, pour the mixture into a blender and blend until smooth.

5. Now pour it back into the saucepan and heat it back up, so it's nice and hot when served.

6. Spread evenly into 4 servings and serve immediately. Serve alone, or add some cream/milk into it, or even enjoy it with some fresh baker's bread (such as a slice of cottage loaf - yum!).

P.S. I'm pretty sure this soup can be kept in a sealed box to be heated up the next day, or even frozen to enjoy on a later date - I can't see why not. :)