PUMPKIN SOUP, BETTE HAGMAN STYLEThe first time I ever had pumpkin soup was in 1982, soon after I arrived in Wellington, New Zealand on tour with the
Long Island Youth Orchestra. My host family welcomed me with a warm, soothing serving in a brown ceramic crock and left me with a memory I've long since associated with comfort and hospitality.
So as part of my effort to observe
Seamaiden's blog event in honor of Bette Hagman, I was happy to try out the
Gluten-Free Gourmet recipe for Pumpkin Soup. It's one of her simpler early recipes—basically calling for pumpkin, yam, and peanut butter(!)—so that helped, too. I made it even easier by (uncustomarily) taking some short cuts like using canned vegetables...and I think it still came out fine. I probably made a mistep by garnishing with dollops of yogurt instead of going with the suggested sour cream...and I think sour cream would've been more appropriate.
And now that I'm posting about this dish, I see that I didn't follow Seamaiden's guidelines to the letter, either. I didn't
bake the soup, and I didn't take a picture of it with one or more flowers in the background. But I did dress it with a smile and
googly eyes a la Amy Sedaris, which I hope is also in the spirit of the event.
So here's to Bette Hagman, with comforting thoughts for her loved ones.
Photo: David Marc FischerADDENDUM Because I hadn't baked anything, I didn't feel I was worthy of
Erin's lovely "Baked in honor of Bette Hagman" image, but since she was kind enough to urge me to include it anyway, here it is.