It took until just a couple weeks ago, but it is finally (mostly) super cold in New York (though significantly worse in Michigan last weekend, yikes). Not that I’m saying this is a good thing; winter is easily my least favorite season, except for the fact that I can comfortably use my oven and also make and eat soup all. the. time. I adapted this recipe from David’s stepmom, and the original is an award winner (at the Kennett Square Mushroom Festival many years ago, and still talked about all the time!); this version is vegan, and it was served at last month’s Supper Studio dinner with Brooklyn psych-pop band TEEN.

I mentioned Supper Studio a while back, but in case you missed it: Last spring my friend Tracy Candido and I started a pop-up music and food series in New York, in which we cook and serve up a multicourse menu inspired by a band’s music (very similar to what I do on here, but an entire meal for a crowd of about 50 people), and the band also plays an intimate set. It’s been a huge challenge and I’m learning a lot, but the first two events have been super rewarding and we’re excited to keep this going into 2014.

So! This soup, inspired by TEEN, the stars of our last meal and show. We made the dish because of its brightness, in color and also the flavors, since many of TEEN’s songs are really bright and jangly, and of course pumpkin (and soup) is in season. The curry made sense because some of the melodies on the band’s Carolina EP that came out this year have a tone that reminded us of Indian music; and the mushrooms, while not special mushrooms, are of course a nod to the psychedelic, California-sounding element of TEEN’s songs. The sound of a spoon hitting the bottom of a bowl (at the event we used mugs), reminded us of the echoey reverb throughout their music; and the bagel croutons are for the band’s New York home base.

Visit Supper Studio’s website to see the rest of the menu; and we’ll have some photos and video soon. Also! Shoutout to Brooklyn Magazine’s Kristin Iversen, who wrote an incredibly flattering recap of the event.

Also, friendly reminder that I wrote about my favorite music of 2013, and you can also download 35 songs I loved, right over here. Happy holidays! See you in 2014!

For the soup:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup coconut oil
2 large onions, chopped fine
1/4 cup flour
1 quart vegetable broth
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced (or more if you’d like)
1 (29 oz.) can pumpkin
1 (15 oz.) can light coconut milk
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon nutmeg
dash cayenne pepper
Generous salt and pepper (to taste)
Sour cream or yogurt to garnish (optional)

Directions:

Melt coconut oil in a soup/stock pot. Saute the onions in the coconut oil until very soft and translucent. Stir in the flour and spices. Stir constantly while slowly adding the vegetable broth. When the mixture thickens, add mushrooms and pumpkin. Cover and cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes. Add the can of coconut milk and cook until soup comes to a boil.

*A note about freezing: This soup freezes well, but when you thaw it the texture will look off. If you whisk it while reheating on the stove, it’ll get right back to how it was before.

For the croutons:

Ingredients:
2 bagels, diced, and left out in a paper bag overnight
1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
salt, pepper and curry powder to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Toss diced bagels with melted coconut oil and dry ingredients until dry ingredients are evenly distributed. Spread out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, foil or a silpat, and bake for about 20 minutes, tossing halfway through.