Winning isn't everything...but it helps.

Sometimes a rainy day can breed laziness, but today's constant drizzle/downpour managed to inspire productivity around our household. On a whim, I decided to whip up an entry for Tidal Creek's 3rd Annual Pumpkin Cook Off, being held at their Fall Food Fair. I had read about the fair in the newsletter and thought it would be a nice leisurely thing to do on a dreary Saturday. So I knew there were three prizes to be had in the cook off: Best Looking, Best Tasting, and Best Vegan - and the winners were to receive a $25 giftcard and goody bag. I figured, what the heck - who couldn't use free groceries in this economy?

I was torn between a couple of recipes, since I love pumpkin in just about anything, but settled on our tried and true rainy day staple, Black Bean Pumpkin Soup. I changed up my original recipe to make it vegan friendly and put it in a crock pot to keep it warm. We headed out in the rain to try and make the entry deadline of 12:30 - at about 12:28, Sal hopped out of the car with our soup and dodged puddles while I tried to find a parking space. It was like a circus in there! A fun, earth friendly circus. Alas, in my hurry to get out the door, I forgot my camera, but hopefully the Co-op will post some soon.
In addition to the Pumpkin Cook Off, there were tons of free samples, a raffle benefiting local organic farmers, and good folks lobbying to keep Titan cement plant out of our county.

As for our soup, it was #7 of 7 entries, and made it just in the nick of time. I barely managed to get the recipe on paper before the judges sat down to eat. In the meantime, we meandered around the store, sampling food and picking up all kinds of useful freebies, like Burt's Bees facial cleanser and organic cat treats. By the time we had stuffed ourselves and our pockets full, the judging was done and the entries were opened up for everyone to try. As we waited in line, they put out labels by the winning foods. Sal peeked around the corner and...we won for Best Vegan! Okay, so I had close to a 50/50 chance of winning something, but still - I was proud. We sampled all of the other dishes, and there were some very tasty entries there. I got lots of compliments on the soup, as well as an awesome goody bag with the gift certificate, a Tidal Creek travel coffe mug - and some of my absolute favorite local Little Red Wagon Pumpkin Patch granola. Yum! We left the store carrying our samples, prize, and an empty crock pot. A very nice day indeed.
Here are both the regular and vegan versions of the recipe. I use mostly local ingredients, such as my own canned tomatoes, our homemade chicken stock, local butter and produce - but I'm writing each version in general terms so you can do whatever. You can also use baked butternut squash instead of pumpkin puree as we sometimes do:

Black Bean Pumpkin Soup (Non Vegan)
4 cans of black beans
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 stick butter
1 med. onion, chopped
1 shallot, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 heaping tbs cumin
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste
4 cups chicken broth
16 oz can pumpkin puree

Puree tomatoes and 3 of the cans of beans in a food processor or blender. Heat butter in a large pot and saute the onion, shallot, garlic and spices until onion is soft. Stir in the bean puree. Mix well, then stir in the broth, pumpkin, and remaining can of beans. Simmer on low for about 25 minutes or until pleasantly thick. Serve topped with sour cream.

***For the Vegan version, omit the sour cream topping, substitute 2 tbs olive oil for the butter, and vegetable broth for the chicken broth.

Photo: Jessica at Tidal Creek was nice enough to package up two bowls of soup for us before it was devoured.