Pasta, broccoli and Tuscany pumpkin cream sauce (vegan)

Who says just because the leaves aren't changing colors anymore (well.... most of them are gone probably... unless you live in Florida like me where they rarely change at all..) or that because it's already freezing (well... never mind) and it isn't just starting to become sweater weather that it's illegal to use pumpkin in all your recipes this time of year? I think one of my favorite things about fall is pumpkin everything. So just because it's mid-January, who says you can't now? I felt like bringing a splash of pumpkin flavor back into our lives, and for the savory flavor to lighten the mood of a bitter winter.

I was at Earth Origins healthfood store the other day and they had a huge sale on some of their pasta sauces. Unfortunately, all their "Tuscan Pumpkin" sauces that looked like they were to die for had dairy in them. Frustrated, I insisted I would go home and make my own vegan version. So that's exactly what I did.... and mixed with it is some onions, broccoli and spinach (just so you can technically get a couple servings of veggies in with your pasta meal..) with some whole wheat pasta.

Ingredients:

For the sauce:
1 cap of pumpkin
1 can of condensed tomato soup
(a can of stewed tomatoes or diced fresh tomatoes can be added but is optional)
1 cup of almond or coconut milk
a handful of fresh basil
½ teaspoon of black pepper
dash of salt
1 tablespoon of fresh or minced garlic
a generous amount of mixed seasoning (Try 21 seasoning salute from Trader Joe's) - or mixture of any herbs or spices of your choice

For the pasta:
½ box or package of whole wheat pasta (for a whole box, double the amount of sauce)
Chopped fresh broccoli
¼ of an onion, chopped
handful of fresh baby spinach

Directions:

Combine sauce ingredients in a pot and cook on medium (with a lid to prevent splattering) for about 15 minutes. Add broccoli, spinach and onions into the sauce once you're done cutting them up and cook for additional time that is necessary for them to become soft. While cooking, boil your pasta in a separate pot until soft. Mix everything together in a large serving bowl and enjoy! If you want to thin out the sauce (or need it to cover more pasta) you can add extra almond or coconut milk, but in doing so you will dilute the savory goodness of this hearty sauce.