Curried Pumpkin Soup

As much as I love cooking, sometimes all I feel like doing when I get home from work is throwing a bunch of canned food together in a pot and calling it a meal.  And while I usually just laugh at those "recipes" that call for a box of cake mix and a can of frosting, I don't think real cooking requires five-course dinners and countless hours bent over the stove or oven, either.

So here's a tasty soup for those days when all your customers are crabby and your kids are whiney and your hair looks like it got attacked by a cat and all you want is a nice hot meal to toss together before you stay up half the night untangling Christmas lights.  You can get all the ingredients from the co-op, except the seasonings, which you probably have on hand already.  I substituted evaporated milk for the heavy cream.  The leftover evaporated milk can be stored in the refrigerator for a week or two (transfer to a plastic or glass container first).

Curried Pumpkin Soup (from a recent seminary graduate)
Serves 4
Time:  15-20 minutes

1 T. vegetable or canola oil
1 T. butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can (14.5 oz.) chicken or vegetable broth
1 can (14.5 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
1/2 cup heavy cream OR evaporated milk
1 1/2 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
coarse salt, to taste

Heat a deep pot over medium heat. Add oil and butter. When butter melts, add onion and saute 5 minutes, until tender. Add broth, black beans, tomatoes, and pumpkin. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and stir in remaining ingredients. Simmer 5 minutes.