Butternut pumpkins seem to be naturally sweeter than the other varieties. I like them best. A few years ago I had a very successful crop of them from my garden (have never had such a good crop since). I just stood them in a cool dry place in my laundry and we had all the pumpkin we could eat for months. They kept really well.

I have a friend, Warren (Arch) Bishop, a wonderful performing poet and storyteller who also takes a food van to festivals. His pumpkin soup is to die for. I like it with a blob of sour cream in the middle and freshly ground pepper, with a soft bread roll.

Until 2 years ago, there was a pumpkin soup stand at the National Folk Festival in Canberra. The guy used to stay open till all hours, long after all the other food stalls had closed for the night, but didn't open again till lunch time or so the next day. It was lovely to come out of a session at 3am and be able to get a hot mug of soup and a bread roll on my way back to my tent. He always did a roaring trade, in fact it often turned into a meeting place for late night eaters. Where else but at a folk festival would you get a queue at 3am?

I remember one year a bunch of us just hung around there for hours. He ended up inviting us in and giving us free seconds, and we were still sitting around on milk crates talking as the sun came up - and this was in a particularly cold year too, temperature somewhere around zero. Our feet were cold but we were warm inside. He hasn't been there the last two years, and it is a real loss.