Roast Pumpkin Soup

We have had a couple of cold days so i thought i would make some pumpkin soup. 

This is not my usual pumpkin soup recipe. I dried all my garlic a couple of months ago therefore i didn't have any fresh to roast so thought id try a different recipe, and i have to say i like it a whole lot better than my old Pumpkin Soup recipe.

Pumpkin Soup

Freezes Great
I like to use Jap or butternut pumpkin, you can use a 2kg to 3kg pumpkin anything bigger you will need to double your spice mix.

2kg Pumpkin
2 large Potatoes
2 Carrots
1 Onion

Peel and roast all of the above leave the onion whole and chop up the other veg, drizzle a little olive oil. Cut your potatoes smaller as they take the longest to cook. Roast about 40 mins to an hour 180 Celsius or 360 Fahrenheit. I do mine a little longer because i like it when the pumpkin starts to get black bits around the edges = more flavour.

1/2 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1 tsp Ginger
Salt and Pepper
4 to 6 cups Vegetable Stock
Greek Yoghurt

To a bench top blender add vegetables and stock a little at a time until well blended and smooth.
Pour into a large stock pot and add the spices. Depending on how thick you like your soup you can add more stock or water. I like a thicker soup so it sticks to your bread.
Cook on low for about 15 to 20 minutes.
Serve with a dollop of greek yoghurt or sour cream.
Of course you will also be wanting some Crusty Bread to accompany your delicious soup.

Freezes great, if you use those reseal bags they can be frozen flat and it is heaps quicker to defrost and saves on freezer space.
When reheating from frozen you may want to add a little water.
You can bake the vegetables up to 3 days before you make the soup.
A roast dinner on Sunday add in your extra vegetables and soup on Monday or Tuesday, too easy.

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Veggie Garden

its been quite a while since we were down in the veggie garden, yesterday we had 2 m3 of soil /compost mix delivered & 4 garden beds went in. we did want raised beds but we just couldn't afford the timber so we will do without. i will be putting down mulch in the walk ways. we still have 4 more beds to go in over the next few weeks.

today i potted up a whole stack of seeds & as there is still a chance of frost i rigged up a kind of green house.

using the old trampoline, two large plastic bags & a few bulldog clips.

How Nice

how nice is it to just take a day off work, well thats what i did on monday. never taken a sickie before, it felt great & a little bit naughty.

spent most of the day down in the chook yard.

i had dug a new bed on sunday & A' added compost from one of the bays & dug it through.

the chooks went nuts for all those worms & bugs. ended up shooing them out before they spread it all over.

planted out sweet corn & made another row for butternut pumpkin, topped them off with some straw.

in the hen house there has been quite a bit of pecking going on, so late in the afternoon i did a little more fencing & moved Miss White & Miss Brown over to the Green & Red hen house. they have settled in & still sitting. when i went down to feed the chooks that morning there was a little grey chick in the nest but unfortunately it was dead.

sunday also saw two more posts in the ground for the new veggie garden.

rows three & four in the potato garden have now come up, Nicolas & Dutch Creams.

this morning i made a new garden journal, think ill sit outside tomorrow afternoon & fill it in. nothing like a new book for a new season, bring on the lists :o)

Seasons & Soup

Seasons & Soup

Autumn has come & gone i spent some of my bits of time admiring all the autumn leaves, even bringing some inside but alas as the house is so warm from the fire they only lasted a few hours before they crumpled & died. a stem of crumpled leaves in a glass jar still sits on my table mmm
from Autumn we now meander on into Winter the lovely cold season of woolly hats, coats & scarves, hot hearty meals, fresh home made bread.
most of the beautiful colour has been stripped from the trees leaving behind the bones.

as sit here looking out my window on a cold rainy day i see piles of leaves ready to go in the compost bay, a few determined leaves clinging to their branches on the maple tree, their beautiful colours warm my heart.
out of all the trees in my yard, my favorite has to be the giant blood plum trees standing guard with their winter arms swaying in the breeze, green lycan clinging to the bark.
these trees are beautiful in all seasons, the end of winter is marked with the first buds showing themselves as they spring forth with new leaves & spring finds them covered with blossom & buzzing bees, a hammock between the two gives me somewhere to relax, read & think.
summer the flowers turn to beautiful dark purple fruit that is sweet & juicy.
as the weather starts to cool again the last purple leaves fall, the hammock is stored away & winter is here again.

on this cold winters day i think a recipe is in order pumpkins are ripe & bringing visions of a thick orange soup with a crusty sourdough loaf
whether you grow your own or pick some up at the green grocer they are super cheap,
this is a very easy soup to make it just takes a bit of time [you can spread it over a few days as i sometimes do when time is limited]

Pumpkin Soup

this recipe is not exact as im not big on measuring
choose the type of pumpkin you like best
for me i like either butternut or jap
this recipe will make about 4lt of soup [ i make a lot more so i can freeze individual portions for lunches or quick dinners]

3 medium butternuts or 1 medium jap [ about 31/2 to 4 kg ]
chopped into about 2 inch chunks
1 large full head of garlic [ russian is best as it has large cloves ]
1 tab oil
1 large onion finely chopped
1/2 tea nutmeg
1 tea cumin
course salt & cracked black pepper to
taste vegetable stock powder No Salt Add [depending on how thick you like your soup]
extra oil
oven 190 Celsius

place chopped pumpkin & whole unpeeled garlic cloves into oven pans,
drizzle with the extra oil toss to coat bake for 20 mis or so until garlic is soft, remove the garlic [dont over cook]
bake the pumpkin until its soft & has some black caramel bits [adds to the flavour]


place all pumpkin into a large mixing bowl squeeze the garlic from the skin into the pumpkin
heat the oil in a large pot over a medium heat cook the onion until it is translucent & soft
add the nutmeg, cumin, salt & pepper cook for 1 min stirring the whole time.

make up your stock using boiling water 2 or 3lt at a time
you can use a food processor but as i dont have one i use my blender
place a small amount of pumpkin plus the onion mix into the blender with some stock blend until smooth & pour/scrape into your big pot
continue until all the pumpkin is blended

your soup will be thick so add water to thin it down to your desired consistency, heating it on a low to medium heat
[we like ours thick so it sticks to the bread]
serve with a crusty bread

freezes well/defrost in the fridge