As much as I loved the beauty of the long island cheese pumpkin, I was getting hungry. So it became soup.
I've gotta say - I'm really getting into the seasonal cooking thing. I've been preparing so much from scratch. This is my first time to make pumpkin puree.
And the rest went in the freezer. Plus some seeds+salt in the oven for some tasty pumpkin seeds.
On last week's menu...
CURRIED APPLE SOUP
4 Macintosh apples - peeled, cored and chopped
1 tablespoon butter (or Earth Balance!)
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree [or fresh!]
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1 teaspoon white sugar
Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, curry, and cumin; saute, stirring often, until onion is soft and fragrant. Stir in apples, pumpkin, broth, water, and sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Puree in food processor/blender. Return soup to saucepan; reheat, covered over low heat.
SWEET POTATO APPLE SCALLOP (a much lighter alternative to S.P. Casserole)
2 pounds sweet potatoes
2 medium apples, peeled and cored
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon orange extract
2 tablespoons butter, margarine (or Earth Balance!)
Place sweet potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil; cook for 20-25 minutes or until tender. Drain and cool. Peel potatoes and cut into 1/4-in. slices. Place in a 13 x 9 baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Cut apples into 1/4-in. rings; cut in half. Arrange over sweet potatoes. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Combine the brown sugar, pecans, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and orange extract; sprinkle over apples. Dot with butter. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until apples are tender.
Lance used to laugh at my affinity towards wooden toys, calling me old fashioned. Truth be told, it was the abundance of neons and bright colors that made me not like plastic toys. But now that all this craziness about toys made in China has popped up, who’s laughing now, huh? A while ago, The Angry Chicken had a good post about this (read it!). Among other things, it suggests making your own or buying handcrafted Items, or buying from a fine purveyor of wooden toys. When it comes time for Christmas shopping, you may want to check out these guys. Very pretty stuff.
