About 15 years ago ( geezzzzz - hard to believe it has been that long!), I was traveling around New Zealand with my sister. I pretty much dragged her to everything adventurous we could possible do and one was cave diving to see the glow worms. It was a very cold, yet interestingly fun adventure but the one thing I remember was the delicious hot pumpkin soup and buttery toast we had after our tour.

Sadly though, my pumpkin soup will not go down with such memories with my family. Although, I thought it was good and it was simple and nutritious, I figured I would post it.

Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients:

• 1Tbsp of olive oil

• 2 Tbsp of butter

• 1 onion, sliced

• 6 cups of pumpkin cut into larger chunks

• 3 cups of sliced potatoes

• 2 1/2 cups of vegetable stock

• pinch of nutmeg

• 1 tsp chopped and fresh tarragon

• 2 1/2 cups of milk
• 1 to 2 tsp of lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat up the oil and butter in a sauce pan. Add the onion and cook for 4 to 5 minutes - stirring frequently.
2. Add the pumpkin and potatoes and stir well. Cover and let steam for approximately 10 minutes until the vegetables are almost tender. Don’t forget to stir!
3. Stir in stock, nutmeg, tarragon and salt and pepper. Lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes ( or until the vegetables are completely tender).
4. Let the soup cool and then pour into a food processor or blender and mix until smooth. Pour back in to the pan and add the milk. Heat slowly, add the lemon juice and adjust the seasonings if need be.
5. Serve the soup nice an hot!

Enjoy! and be well,

This recipe was a hit with everyone! And again, it fit my soup criteria of being extremely easy to cook.

Thai Chicken and Noodle Soup

• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 skinless, boneless 6 ounce chicken breasts - chopped
• 1/2 TSP turmeric
• 1/4 TSP cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup creamed coconut
• 3 3/4 cups chicken stock, hot
• 2 TBSP lemon or lime juice
• 2 TBSP crunchy peanut butter ( I used smooth)
• 1 cup of egg noodles broken into small pieces
• 1 TBSP scallions
• 1 TPSP fresh cilantro
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Shredded coconut and fresh red chili to garnish ( I didn’t do this)

1. Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the garlic and then the chicken and stir fry for 3 to 4 minutes
2. Sprinkle the creamed coconut into the hot chicken stock and stir until it dissolves. Pour onto the chicken meat and add the lemon or lime juice, peanut butter and egg noodles.
3. Cover the pan and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the scallions and fresh cilantro, season well with salt and pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes longer.
4. If you garnish; heat the shredded coconut and chili in a small dry skillet fpr 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until the cocnut is light brown.
5. Pour the soup into bowls and sprinkle with garnish.

This serves about 4 people and the whole pot was gone in about 10 minutes! Next time I plan to double and make the garnish.

Pumpkin soup is next..sounds great to me but lets se what the family thinks!

Be well,

I am on a crusade to cook up as many soups that look good ( great photos) and sound good  from, The Cook’s Encyclopedia of Soup. I began this crusade for many reasons….

• most important reason: they are simple to cook
• they are nutritious
• they are yummy
• everyone loves them in my family ( although Pearl is slightly picky)

The first soup I tried was the Tomato and Blue Cheese Soup. Ok, it sounded good to me because I enjoy the occasional nibble of blue cheese on my salads. But when I started cooking it up I started to think about the others in my family. At the last minute I almost threw in goat cheese instead of the blue cheese but I thought about the movie, Julie and Julia, and decided to stick with the recipe.

I should have gone with my instincts.

It was ok but the kids really truly disliked it ( I would write their comments but hmmm…they were not pretty).

My second soup attempt was, Pasta and Chick-Pea Soup. And it was a family pleaser!

Here is the recipe:

• 4 TBSP of olive oil
• 1 minced onion
• 2 minced carrots
• 2 finely chopped celery stalks
• 14 ounce can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 7 ounce can of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 2/3 cups of pureed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 quarts of vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 sprig of rosemary
• 2 cups of dried conchiglie pasta
• salt and pepper to taste
• shavings of Parmesan cheese to serve

1. Heat the oil in a large pot and add the chopped vegetables. Cook over low heat ( don’t forget to stir) for 5 to 7 minutes.
2. Add the chickpeas, cannellini beans, stir well, and cook for 5 minutes Stir in the purred tomatoes and water. Stir and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes
3. Add 2 cups of stock, the rosemary and salt an pepper. Bring to a boil and then smiimer for 1 hour.
4. Pour in the remaining stock, add the pasta and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, and simmer for 7 to 8 minutes ( pasta is al dente!)
5. Remove the rosemary and serve with the Parmesan cheese.

I was telling a friend of mine this recipe and she thought some swiss chard, kale or spinach would be a great “colorful” addition. Brilliant, I thought. Next time I will definitely add it.

Be and eat well!