Pumpkin Soup with Chipotle-Roasted Sunflower Seeds

For the soup:

1. Halve the vanilla bean lengthwise, scrape the seeds and then add both the seeds and the pod to the soup. Melt the butter in a small sauté pan over medium-high heat. Cook until it starts to brown; add the onion and vanilla bean. Cook until the onion is translucent.
2. Add the canned pumpkin, sage and milk. Whisk together and reduce the heat to medium. Simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Remove the vanilla bean pod and let soup cool.* Blend with an immersion blender until smooth. Return to medium heat, season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Ladle into bowls; garnish with a dollop of tangy Greek yogurt and a sprinkling of Chipotle-Roasted Sunflower Seeds.

*Tips + Tricks:

• Wait for soup to cool so the heat does not make the soup explode during blending.
• The thickness of this soup is determined by the amount of milk you add to the recipe, so add more milk if desired. To serve it as more of a pureed pumpkin side dish, add less milk.
• If you do not have an immersion blender, puree the soup in an upright blender.

1. In a sauté pan, combine the sunflower seeds, olive oil and chipotle powder; bring to medium-high heat.
2. Toss together to coat all of the sunflower seeds with oil and chile and cook for 2 minutes, or until they are golden brown and toasted.

Tips + Tricks:

• These are the perfect nutty, smoky, addition to salad, soups, or everyday snacking.
• For flavor without heat, substitute chili powder for the chipotle powder.