Recipe - Peters Cream Of Pumpkin Soup

1 teaspoon Safflower oil
1 pound Pumpkin, fresh
cut in chunks,
=OR= Canned Pumpkin
1 Yellow onion
peeled and chopped
1 small Garlic clove
peeled and crushed
2 Celery stalks; chopped
1 Stalk fresh thyme; =OR=
One half teaspoon Dried thyme
One half Bay leaf
5 cup Chicken broth
1 One half tablespoon Lowfat white cheese
Such as cottage cheese,
farmer's cheese,
cream cheese or ricotta
1 tablespoon Nonfat powdered milk
One half cup Parsley, chervil and chives
(minced)

This Thanksgiving soup has but 65 calories per serving.

IN A LARGE SAUCEPAN, heat the oil over a low fire. Add the vegetables
(including the fresh pumpkin, but not the canned), thyme and bay leaf.
Reduce the heat, cover, and let cook gently for 8 minutes. Stir
occasionally to keep the vegetables from browning. Add the broth and the
pumpkin, if using canned; bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer,
uncovered, for either 20 minutes (fresh pumpkin) or 10 minutes (canned
pumpkin). Puree mixture in batches in a blender. Pour pureed soup through a
fine strainer back into saucepan and return to boil. If it seems too thick,
thin with a little hot broth or water. (Can be made to this point up to 2
days in advance and refrigerated, loosely covered.) Before serving, reheat
soup to boiling. Pour back into the blender and add the cottage cheese and
powdered milk. Blend 20 seconds. Taste for seasoning. Ladle the soup into 4
heated soup bowls; sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the minced fine herbs over
each. Serve immediately.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini