Pumpkin Vichysoisse

In a large pot, boil all the ingredients, except the cream, together until the potatoes and pumpkin are just barely done enough to mash. Remove the bay leaf. Using a blender set to low to medium speed, blend all the ingredients together while at the same time adding the cream as a thickener. Blend the mixture so that it ends up as a thick, almost gruel-like texture. Avoid blending too much or at high speed or you will wind up with a textureless puree. If necessary, you can add additional salt and/or pepper to taste, and then finally add the chopped parsley. Total preparation time is about half an hour. Serve immediately, or refrigerate overnight, then reheat and serve next day, which will actually bring out more of the flavour. Notes: If pumpkin is not available then any orange squash can be readily substituted. For the potatoes, I prefer "Yukon Gold", as they are more flavourful than most white potatoes. Also, I use "Knorr" chicken broth powder, but any chicken broth preparation will do as well. If leek is not available, then cooking onion is fine. I prefer to use the two together.