New Year's Pumpkin Soup

This recipe came together rather by accident - a mix of homesickness for fall in North America, a pumpkin sighting at my local grocery store, the Haitian tradition in my family of having some sort of pumpkin soup (soup joumou) on New Year's, and the delightful discovery of smoked tofu for sale at a 'meat' shop (protein shop?) near work. You may not have smoked tofu available where you live, and if that's the case I am profoundly sorry. It seriously rocks my world! Depending on what I've had in the house I've substituted potato for the tofu and it makes an equally lovely soup, so use what you've got available!
As usual, this recipe caters entirely to my tastes. I was also just kind of throwing things in as I went, so the amounts on the herbs and spices are more approximations than hard measures. If you're not sure you'll like the taste of something, just add a little and then build from there till you're happy! Lastly, if you like smoother soups and have a blender or immersion blender I would recommend frying the smoked tofu separately in a little olive oil and then waiting on adding it till the end so that you can enjoy its flavor and texture.



New Year's Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 medium onion (chopped)
4 to 6 cloves of garlic (crushed/minced)
3/4 cup of smoked tofu or 2 medium potatoes (cubed)
5 cups of water
Roasted pumpkin* or 1 15-ounce can of canned pumpkin
1 tablespoon of powdered ginger
1 to 2 tablespoons of dried parsley
2 bay leaves
2 shakes of nutmeg (or to taste)
Pepper (to taste)
Red pepper flakes (to taste)
Salt (to taste)
Bouillon** (to taste)
13.5-ounce can of coconut milk

*Roast a small to medium-sized pumpkin and then use the flesh from one of the pumpkin halves for this recipe.
**What I have available has changed significantly, so I leave how much bouillon and what kind to use up to you, dear reader!

Directions
1) Lord, bless!
2) Heat the olive oil over medium heat and sauté the onion until soft.
3) Add the garlic and smoked tofu and continue sautéing until the onions start to brown. (Alternatively, if using potatoes just add the garlic and then add the cubed potatoes in step number four and cook for 15 minutes or until the potatoes have reached your desired texture.)
4) Add the water, pumpkin, herbs and spices, bay leaves, and bouillon, mix thoroughly, and bring the soup to a boil.
5) Reduce the heat to simmer and add the coconut milk. Adjust seasonings as needed.
6) Serve as is or with a sprinkle of parmesan - a guy can dream of readily available parmesan, can't he? - and a bit of rice if you like and enjoy! (A couple of slices of baguette or garlic bread also make for a nice accompaniment!)