Behind the Mask by Yangsook Choi is a Halloween story for children ages 4 to 8. It’s a story of how a Korean-American boy connects with his deceased grandfather through the American tradition of Halloween and the Korean tradition of talchum or folk mask dancing.

This would be a perfect book for any American child who has ties to the “old country” whether it’s in Asia, Europe, Africa or South America. Behind the Mask is a beautifully illustrated book and will be enjoyed by adults as well as children.

To go along with this beautiful story, how about carving out a pumpkin to use as a soup tureen for a pumpkin bisque soup? One such example was featured in this week’s Denver Post food section. Make sure you use a pie pumpkin and not one for carving jack-o-laterns. Also, with the honey and cream, this soup is sweet and creamy enough to sneak by the palette of even the pickiest child.

Pumpkin Bisque
From chef Justin Barbour of the Colorado Chefs Association. This recipe was featured on Colorado’s Department of Agriculture’s website. (See the Colorado Farm Fresh Recipes section for more food ideas.)

Serves 2-6, depending on bowl size.

Ingredients:

1. 1 medium “pie” pumpkin (do not use jack-o-lantern pumpkins)
2. 2 tablespoons melted honey
3. 2 tablespoons oil
4. Pinch of salt, cinnamon, nutmeg
5. 2 cups chicken stock
6. 3 cups mirepoix (1 cup each celery, carrot, onion, diced small)
7. 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
8. 1 tablespoons butter
9. 1 1/2 cups cream
10. 2 teaspoons sliced ginger
11. 3 cups cream
12. 1 tablespoon honey
13. 3 teaspoon nutmeg
14. 1 cup sugar
15. 3 teaspoons cinnamon
16. 2 teaspoons salt
17. 2 small pie pumpkins for serving (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Remove pulp, seeds and skin from pie pumpkin and cut into 2-by-3-inch pieces. Toss in honey, oil, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Place on baking sheet and bake 30 minutes. Toss often; it burns easily. Sauté mirepoix and garlic in butter 2-3 minutes. Add chicken stock, bring to a boil. Remove solids and about 1/2 cup stock to a food processor or blender. Allow to cool slightly. Purée and return to pan. Strain mixture, discard solids and return liquid to pan.
3. In a separate pan, mix 1 1/2 cups cream and ginger, and reduce by half over medium heat. Add cooked pumpkin to strained stock and purée part of the mixture again. Add cream, sugar, honey, nutmeg and cinnamon. Simmer 5-10 minutes, stirring constantly and being careful to not let it come to a full boil. Add 2 teaspoons salt. For a smoother soup, strain again; for a rustic soup do not.
4. Cut the top off and gut and wipe out serving pumpkins. Recipe serves 2-3 if using pumpkin bowls or 4-6 if not.

Like what you see? Subscribe to My Readable Feast for updates!