Curried Pumpkin-Apple Soup

A yummy and especially perfect Fall recipe from Family Fun recipes that we tailored to our family.  A desire to enjoy the delicious aroma is reason enough to make it!

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:
2 T Smart Balance
1 c chopped onion
1 c chopped celery
1 large apple, peeled, cored and chopped
1 t mild curry powder
3 c chicken broth
1 1/2 c solidly packed pumpkin mash or canned pumpkin
1/4 t salt (or to taste)
1 whole bay leaf
1/4 c RiceMilk
2 to 3 T honey or maple syrup
chopped chives for garnish (if desired)

1.  Melt the butter in a medium-size soup pot.  Stir in the onion, celery, and apple.  Partially cover the pot and saute` the ingredients over medium-high heat until the onion is clear, about 8 minutes. Stir in the curry powder and saute` the mixture for another minute.  Stir in 1 cup of the chicken broth and cook it for 1 minute more.
2.  Pour contents of the pan into a blender, or food processor (or use an immersion blender), add pumpkin, and puree the soup until it's smooth.
3.  Pour it all back into the pot, then stir in remaining chiken broth, the salt, and the bay leaf.  Set the soup over medium-high heat and bring it to a simmer, stirring occasionally.
4.  After 5 minutes, stir in the heavy cream and 2 tablespoons of honey.  Taste the soup, adding more salt or honey if necessary to get the desired balance of sweet and savory.  Simmer it for 2 minutes more, remove the soup from the heat, and serve it hot.  Sprinkle each bowl with chives for a colorful and tasty garnish.

Note:  We had a can of pumpkin pie mix that needed to be used and substituted that in place of the pumpkin called for.  With the sweeteners already in the mix, we eliminated adding the honey.  The spices in the pumpkin mix combined with the curry smelled and tasted delicious....an extra sweet and savory combination.  We look forward to trying this with plain packed pumpkin.  We served this with seasoned chicken and salad.