We had a blast in Chicago this weekend, but now I’m exhausted and it’s only the beginning of the week! There wasn’t a moment of downtime between Emily’s wedding downtown, navigating our way through the suburbs to visit our friends with babies, and squeezing in meals with both our brothers (Rick Bayless’ XOCO was excellent by the way, and I’m still dreaming of the pork belly soup and Aztec hot chocolate!). We had so much fun seeing everyone and I can’t wait to go through our pictures!
One of the highlights of the trip was that I got to meet Meghan of You’re Gonna Bake it After All! Meghan and I bonded right away because we started our blogs around the same time and both went to graduate school in Chicago. In fact, we both got our PhDs in cancer biology, believe it or not – what a small world! She is just as gorgeous, smart, warm, and down to earth as she comes across in her blog, and it really felt like we had been friends for a long time as we chatted over brunch at Yolk. When I ordered the Tuscan Frittata, she just smiled knowingly and commented that she thought I may get that one because it was topped with goat cheese. Yep, she knows me well! So today’s spiced pumpkin soup recipe is for Meghan, who is a big soup and turkey bacon fan!
Spiced Pumpkin Soup with Turkey Bacon
Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 slices turkey bacon, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon garam marsala
3 cups chicken stock
1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Directions:
Heat olive oil in a large stockpot over medium high heat and add bacon to the pan; cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until crispy. Drain on paper towels.
Add onions and carrots to the same stockpot and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes or until soft. Add garlic, curry powder, turmeric, and garam marsala, and sauté one additional minute or until fragrant. Add chicken stock, pumpkin, 3/4 of the cooked turkey bacon, and salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and let simmer for 20 minutes. Use an immersion blender and puree to desired smoothness. Mix in white wine vinegar. Scoop into bowls and garnish with remaining turkey bacon. Makes 4 servings.
Nutrition: 220 calories, 11.3g fat, 4.0g fiber, 10.6g protein per serving
Cost: $1.15 per serving
Cake, Batter, and Bowl features my original recipes for quick, healthy, and inexpensive weeknight meals and indulgent weekend treats. Enjoy!
Oh, this looks so good! So thick and yummy ~ great recipe!
glad you had a great trip! and how funny is that that Meghan is also a cancer biologiest
small world, indeed! this soup sounds great, too!
What a terrific story! good for you!
And the soup looks great too
Such fun you have!
I had no idea you had a PhD. Your family must be so proud!
iiiiiiit’s bacon! turkey bacon is something i find really tasty, and i think its very presence makes this soup outstanding. lovely seasonal creation, kerstin!
and a phd in cancer biology? many, many kudos to you!
Lovely delicious soup and I love the addition of turkey bacon, yum!
Lovely to see both of you here Kerstin. That pumpkin soup sounds delicious with bacon.
This soup sounds warm and inviting with all of these spices and, of course, the turkey bacon.
Bacon on soup? Pure genius! I love this idea. This soup definitely eats like a meal – the kind that I adore
Mmmm. The soup sounds delicious and comforting.
I love blogger get togethers when you just click with someone
Glad you had fun!! I totally would order whatever it is that had goat cheese 
Wow Kerstin, first of all I had such a great time officially meeting you on Saturday (even though I feel like I’ve known you for a long time!) Your post is the sweetest thing ever and I am so honored that you posted a soup with my favorite things – and it’s incredible! Pumpkin with all those delicious spices AND turkey bacon!!! Love it all!
Pumpkin and BACON! Oh yum yum~
A take on pumpkin soup I MUST try.
How sweet that you met Meghan! Your pumpkin soup looks absolutely delicious! Especially with bacon. So comforting.
thick pumpkin soup? I love it. never had turkey bacon though.
That is some nice and creamy looking soup! Pumpkin soup is my absolute favorite!
Man, you’ve been meeting everyone! Okay maybe not everyone but you know what I mean. Just for the record I’m in central FL if you ever come to see Mickey or visit Daytona!
~ingrid
Love pumpkin soup! Yum! It’s always so much fun meeting people whose blogs you read.
Oooooh – that soup looks fantastic, and I love the turkey bacon on top!!!
I love Chicago. It’s always such a great eating town. Have you ever been to Green Zebra? I think you would really enjoy it. I’m so jealous that you went to a Rick Bayless restaurant. I have such a foodie crush on him.
I have never been to Chicago but I SO want to go. My roommate from college and I wanted to go see a concert there a few summers ago, but my mom flipped out and wouldn’t let me. Should I ever go, Rick’s restaurant will be one of my first stops!
This soup looks amazing. But then again, you know how intense my feelings towards pumpkin are.
I didn’t realize you worked in cancer biology. What lab are you in?
Soup sounds delicious, turkey bacon must add great flavor with the pumpkin.
THANK YOU for using turkey bacon in this one … I don’t eat regular bacon, so this is a great alternative … woohoo!
I LOVE pumpkin soup… Mmm. Perfect for fall. And the turkey bacon addition is really nice. I’m jealous of your Chicago trip.
The curry powder sounds great in the soup, and I’m a turkey bacon fan!
OMG. How cool about meeting another blogger and one with a lot of similarities. The pumpkin soup sounds delicious. I love Chicago, but haven’t been there in YEARS.
What a lovely meet up
You come up with the coolest combinations. I love them!
I’ve only been to Chicago once, but it’s such a hoppin’ place!! And it’s really neat you got to meet up with
another blogger–love it!
Glad you had a blast–can’t wait to see more pics!
Oh I made a soup like this once…but not with all those spices! I must try it with those amazing spices sometime…but hey you should add some goat cheese on top to yours too!
I love the photo – y’all are so gorgeous!
Your soup looks heavenly – turkey bacon rocks my world! 
I’m so glad you had such a wonderful trip!! 
How fun you got to meet up! Love this soup!
What a fun meet up! You both look great.
Thanks everyone!
Ingrid – I’m in, we love Disney World!
Joanne – Carla Kim’s at Children’s/HMS! She started her lab 3 years ago and did her postdoc with Tyler Jacks.
Sophia – Why didn’t I think of that?
I love thick soups like this. I’ve never tried turkey bacon though.
Yum, that sounds delicious. I could eat soup every day. Yay for bloggy meetups!
I owe you. I think I just printed up 6 recipes from here. Thanks to you, we eat……
You have a knack for knowing what goes together for flavor.
Aww, thanks so much Chaya, I hope you enjoy all the recipes!