We had all intentions of starting out this week with a New Year clean slate/healthy attitude.  Then I was slammed with a cold Monday night and all those healthy intentions went out the door.  Therefore, it has become “eat what you have on hand week”, which is not a bad thing either, as it forces me to become creative with what we have – waste not.

For instance, tonight, all I could find in our bare pantry and freezer, was a couple cans of chickpeas, small amounts of various grains and pastas,  some frozen steaks, some eggs, a small amount of frozen chicken stock and a bit of frozen leftover roasted pumpkin.  I vaguely remembered a pumpkin soup in one of the magazines I have but did not feel like scouring them, so I threw together this little soup and served it with a warmed up baguette (also from the freezer).

I toasted some cumin seeds with a small amount of olive oil and then added the pumpkin, chicken stock and a can of chickpeas.  Gently heated through for about 30 minutes, just to blend the flavors, then seasoned with salt and pepper.  Voila dinner!   I had expected to sit down, taste it and hear Lenny say this was one of the worse things we have had in a long time;  but, it was actually pretty good!  Could have added some shallots or onions, but otherwise, it was easy, flavorful and good.

See what you can come up with with limited resourses!