Roasted Pumpkin Soup (with Veg. option)

This came out so well, I'm sharing it. M/N, let me know how the vegan adaptations do, as those tend to be even healthier and in this case, I'm guessing just as good...

Ingredients:
1 med. pumpkin, about 4 pounds
1 T butter
2 slices bacon, diced (or about 1 T freshly ground pepper, add at end w/ cream)
1 large onion, diced
6 C chicken stock (veggie stock)
1/2 C half and half (recipe calls for heavy cream, trust me, you'd be fine with skim)
salt and pepper
large pinch of nutmeg
dash chipotle pepper spice or the real thing if you can find it

Directions:
If whole pumpkin, roast for 40 min, then skin and dump seeds.
If jack 'o lantern leftovers, roast at 425 degrees for 20 min.
For both, cool for about 20 min.

Melt butter in soup pot over medium heat. Add bacon and onion and saute until bacon's golden and smell goddamn good. About 7 minutes. Add pumpkin and stock and simmer until pumpkin falls apart, about 30 min. Let cool for about another 20 min.

In batches puree soup. Recipe says to strain it, I wanted the extra fiber, so I didn't bother. Then add cream and nutmeg. Holy cow, it's amazing. I also tossed in a splash of grated cheddar cheese to contrast with sharpness, and it worked. Good stuff, relatively easy, and quick cleanup. :) Usually, I roast the pumpkin seeds from the jack o' lantern too, and they'd make a great garnish. Unfortunately, they didn't last long enough. Too yummy. I love home-roasted pumpkin seeds. Okay, back to Prison Break.