I don’t know about you, but I find that sweet and savory is the best combination. I had an awesome pumpkin coconut soup at this quaint little Thai restaurant in Bloor West Village recently, and enjoyed it so much that I went home to look up recipes and experiment until I found the perfect combination. I love any kind of squash soup, but the great thing about this recipe is that it uses canned pumpkin, so there’s no strenuous work of cutting up a thick pumpkin.

I know that pumpkin and coconut milk aren’t exactly things that the average student has lying around the house, but I encourage you to go out and buy them specifically for this soup. It’s delicious and very easy to make.

I’ve used both regular coconut milk and lite coconut milk before, and I found the regular milk made it a better texture – lite milk didn’t blend as nicely.

It makes a fairly large batch, so I divvy it up and freeze portions afterwards. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves
• Olive oil
• 2 ½ cups vegetable broth (you can use bouillon cubes which are found in the soup or spices aisle at the grocery store)
• 1 14 ounce can coconut milk (found in the international foods aisle or by the spices or baking sections)
• 1 15 ounce can pumpkin (also typically found in the baking section – get the one that you can use for baking pies)
• 1 tsp curry (add more or less to taste)
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger or shredded ginger root

Preparation:
1. In a large pot, sauté the onions and garlic in the olive oil until the onions turn soft.
2. If using bouillon cubes, boil about three cups of water in the kettle then add the water to the pot along with one or two bouillon cubes.
3. Shake the can of coconut milk before you open the can, then add it to the pot with the pumpkin – whisk until smooth.
4. Add the rest of the spices, stir to combine.
5. Simmer over low heat for at least fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally.

*I spent about $8.00 on the batch and I got around 5 large servings.