So you’re not going home for Thanksgiving. Ticket prices were too high, you live in a foreign country or your parents love you enough not to force you to sit through a multiple-course meal with 15 members of your extended family.

Just because you’re missing out on the annual political debate between Uncle Mark and Grandpa Fred and you won’t be feeding Great-Aunt Sophie’s inedible kugel to the dog under the table doesn’t mean you can’t be having a Thanksgiving feast of your own next Thursday.

If you’re one of those Georgetown students who will be making his own meals next week, the following recipes are for you:

Curried Coconut Carrot Soup
1 cup carrots, chopped into 2 inch pieces

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 clove garlic, grated

2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated

1 1/2 cups vegetable stock

¼ cup coconut milk

juice of one lemon

2 tablespoons cumin

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Toss the carrots with olive oil and roast for 20 minutes, or until the carrots can be pierced with a fork.

3. Meanwhile, saute onions, garlic and ginger in a pot over medium heat.

4. Add carrots and vegetable stock to pot. Simmer until the carrots are cooked through and soft. Allow the soup to cool.

5. Pour the contents of the pot into a blender and blend until smooth. Add more liquid if necessary.

6. Pour soup back into the pot, stir in coconut milk, lemon juice and spices. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pumpkin Cake

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup dark brown sugar

1/3 granulated sugar

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1 1/4 cups pumpkin puree

OPTIONAL: 2/3 cup bittersweet chocolate, chopped and 1/4 cup heavy cream

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Butter and flour a large Bundt pan (or line a large 12-cup cupcake tin).

3. In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt.

4. In a large bowl, mix together the butter and sugars until creamy. Add eggs one at a time.

5. Alternately add half a cup of the flour mixture and 1/4 cup of the buttermilk to the butter-sugar-egg mixture. Stir in the pumpkin puree.

6. Pour the batter into the Bundt pan (or the cupcake tin). If using a cupcake tin, top each cupcake with a pecan.

7. Bake for 40-50 minutes (more like 20 minutes if using a cupcake tin) or until a fork inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

8. OPTIONAL: If you’re like me, dessert isn’t really dessert without chocolate. Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Pour the cream into a bowlful of the chocolate chips and stir vigorously until the chocolate is thoroughly melted and the ganache has a glossy texture. Pour over the cake.