I absolutely love the autumn season. I love it because of all the incredible colors and not just in the leaves on the trees. I love it because of the tremendous variety of squash and pumpkins out there. My favorite activity is to go to a farm with my kids and buy a mini-van full of their beautiful shapes and colors. It just brings me great joy to have them outside my front door to greet everyone and when it gets too cold (freezing temps) I bring them inside and enjoy their beauty indoors. I love creating a variety of recipes to use them because they satisfy the desire for sweet, are colorful and delicious, full of fiber and vitamin A. I add them to quinoa salads, bean soups, coconut curries, make desserts out of them like pumpkin “cheese” cake, or use them as the primary base for a soup, like in this one.
This is a variety of a Cinderella pumpkin. Sweet and gorgeous.
All you need is a really sharp knife and a little bit of leverage (not much muscle) to open this baby up. The rewards are worth it. Look at this beautiful orange inside. You 
can roast the seeds if you are up for it. They are high in zinc and tryptophan. The seeds are a great sleep aid as tryptophan converts into melatonin. Get your beauty and detox rest.
Once you cut the pumpkin and scoop out the seeds – throw the pumpkin in the oven in a pan that can catch the pumpkin’s juices. It will release water as it roasts.
Ingredients:
coconut oil, enough to generously cover the bottom of pot
5 onions, chopped
6 ribs celery or 2 celeriac, chopped
1 Cinderella pumpkin or 2 butternut squash, chunked
6-8 carrots, chunked
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 quarts of broth (chicken or veggie)
1-2 cans of coconut milk
2 apples, cubed
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 cumin
1/8 cardamom
1/16 nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
Optional: cilantro for garnish
Method:
Warm oil. Saute onions until translucent. Add celery and garlic and saute a few more minutes. Add squash and carrots and spices and saute a couple more minutes. Add broth and bring soup up to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Add apples and coconut milk. Adjust seasonings as necessary. Use an immersion blender to blend into a smooth soup. Serve and sprinkle with cilantro.