Soup of the Week

Creamy Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients

6 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 1/2 cups cubed fresh pumpkin
1 teaspoon fresh parsley
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
5 whole black peppercorns

Directions

-Cut pumpkin into 1/2-inch cubes.
-Heat stock, salt, pumpkin, onion, thyme, garlic, and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes uncovered.
-Puree the soup in small batches (1 cup at a time) using a food processor or blender.
-Return to pan and bring to a boil again. ---Reduce heat to low and simmer for another 30 minutes, uncovered.
-Stir in heavy cream.
-Pour into soup bowls and garnish with fresh parsley.

Alterations

-I used one large can of pumpkin purée instead of fresh. Way less work.
-2 cloves of garlic instead of one.
-Topped with crispy turkey bacon and garlic bread on the side.

Here's my pumpkin! (Ignore the mouse pointer, the image is a stolen screen shot from the previews.)

Soup of the Week - Cream of Something Easy

This week's soup was from a can - 2 actually. We had just returned from a lovely long weekend in Prague to an empty fridge and had no desire (it was Sunday and we were tired) to go to the store or order in so I rummaged through the pantry and the freezer to see what I could concoct. I call these kinds of meals "food storage drills". It's a way to make myself feel less guilty for not going grocery shopping and like I'm doing something about my food storage - testing myself to see if I could cook a meal (or on one occasion a week's worth) with whatever happens to be shoved to the back of the pantry and freezer.

Anyway, what resulted was Herby Cream of Tomato-Mushroom

1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of tomato soup (my least favorite of the cream soups)
2 cans hot water
half a small onion, chopped
oil
herbs and seasonings (I probably used mixed Italian herbs, garlic, celery salt and probably some other stuff)

Saute onion in oil until clear, stir in soups, water and seasonings, heat on low until hot and bubbly. I think I let mine simmer a bit to let the herbs work their magic.

We ate ours with grilled cheese sandwiches that I gourmet-ed up (sprinkle some sea salt and oregano on the cheese before you grill them and use nice, seedy bread).

The result was not bad, which is exactly what I was going for. Had I been feeling slightly more ambitious (read: not so tired) I would have used the last box of tomato puree and made my own tomato soup but that was one step too many at the moment. Plus I was then able to use that tomato puree in last night's food storage drill (tomato veggie lamb kebab curry with rice...?).

So next time you look in your empty fridge/pantry and think "what in the world can I make with this assortment of crap?" just add some onions and herbs and pretend you're at a fancy restaurant and only have enough money to order the cheapest things on the menu - soup and cheesy bread.

Soup of the Week is back!

It's finally cold enough to break out the soup recipes and get cooking. Woo!

This week's soup was inspired by the Thanksgiving leftovers in my fridge.

~Turkey Pumpkin Soup~
oil
medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup carrot, chopped (optional)
1-2 cups potato, peeled and cubed
1 tsp sage
1 tsp basil
1 tsp thyme
6 cups veggie or chicken stock
15oz can pumpkin
2 cups turkey, cubed

Heat oil in large pot. Add veggies and cook until lightly browned. Add seasonings, stock and pumpkin. Simmer until potatoes are soft. Add turkey and simmer until heated through. Serve with bread or rolls (we had sourdough with honey butter).

We had never had turkey soup before. It was yummy! And easy! A nice reminder of the delicious thanksgiving dinner we had last week.

Now off to finish up the rest of the leftover pie.

Happy Birthday, Darling

The following is a poem written by one of my dearest friends, Mona, for her husband. I've stolen it to repost as an ode to Brent on his 31st birthday. Happy Birthday, my darling, I love you the very best.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Come, my dearest

lover, brother, friend,

and let me look up at you.

When did you become

an ode to manhood,

a spectacle of

masculinity,

respected

by those

you serve,

those you lead,

those you work with, those you love.

When did you gain

the confidence of kindness,

of wisdom, of accomplishment…

rooting a soul so big...you've become

a sanctuary of shade,

the keeper of clouds,

a dream maker

with branches

strong enough for many to rest upon.

Let me look up at you!

Your gentle power spreads an aura

of love, sincerity, and reassurance

that life can grow men

solid enough,

giant enough,

to deserve

the title

tall enough:

"Husband and Father”.