pumpkin goodness

i love pumpkin
pretty much anything pumpkin, but especially pumpkin pie.
i baked the last of my pumpkins today - i cannot believe it lasted this long, but it is as tasty as the first one of the season!
that means we are having everything pumpkin. okay, two things.
PART ONE:
pumpkin soup for dinner. martha stewart has her issues, one being that her recipes tend to be way too wordy and use ingredients and kitchen instruments that even an experienced cook/baker isn't familiar with. BUT, she does have a fabulous pumpkin soup recipe, with a delish garnish of wild rice, toasted almonds and craisins - yum! that is the only pumpkin soup i have ever made, until tonight. my friend meghann made us a much more savory soup a few months ago (a rachel ray speciality) and i thought i would try that tonight. it calls for hot sauce, and all i had was our old faithful village wok sauce. BANG! my hubby loves heat and i am always looking for something with some kick!
so here's the soup recipe:
1TB oilve oil
2TB butter
1 bay leaf
2ribs celery
1 med onion
salt and pepper to taste
cook 6 or 7 minutes, until tender
add
3TB flour
1TB poultry seasoning (or 2tsp ground thyme)
2TB hot sauce
whisk in separately,
6 cups chicken stock
3 1/2 cups pumpkin
simmer for 10 minutes
2 cups heavy cream
lower heat and keep warm until serving.
1/2 tsp nutmeg

PART TWO:
pumpkin pie
we are getting more and more serious about getting the white stuff out of our diet (flour and sugar) so i tried, again, to make a whole wheat crust. crusts have NEVER been easy for me. i seem to find a recipe for a beautiful crust that tastes horrible, while the tasty ones look bad or are difficult to work with.
i found the one tonight in my old Laurel's Kitchen cookbook - a great resource for wholesome cooking. it was actually moist! and i made these beautiful edges!!

does anyone (of my three readers) know why the filling pulls away from the crust like this?
the filling is also a new one for me. i have used the one off the can of Libby's pumpkin for years, but i have been looking for one without all the sugar and evap milk. found one!
i experimented on hubby's family for thanksgiving and everyone loved it even tho it has maple syrup instead of sugar. and we served it with whipping cream sweetened with maple syrup too!!
so, here are the recipes

the crust:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
10TB butter
1tsp salt
4-6TB cold water (i ended up using more)
combine all ingredients until just holds together. form into a ball and refrigerate 1/2 hour. bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes

the filling:
2cups pumpkin
1cup whipping cream
3/4cup maple syrup
3 eggs
1TB flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch o salt
combine all ingredients. pour into baked crust. bake at 350 until set, about 55 minutes.

YUM!
oh- add 3TB maple syrup to 1 cup whipping cream for a tasty dolloping of love!