Method: 1) Take one whole pumpkin, and wipe it down so the outside is clean. Cut in half side to side rather than top to bottom. Scoop the seeds out of both halves, and lay them in an oven proof dish, cut side up. 2) Dice some onion and bacon. Place into scooped out centres. Add a generous couple of knobs of butter. Sprinkle with some salt. Add 1/4 tsp nutmeg to each half, or if you can have stronger spices, use cumin seeds or ground cumin or other spices as desired. 3) Place in oven and bake at 180C until the pumpkin is cooked - approx. 60 mins, depending on the size of your pumpkin - mine was a large crown pumpkin I grew in the garden. 4) When the pumpkin is cooked, remove it from the oven, and scoop all the flesh plus bacon and onion into a large bowl - everything but the skins. Mash well. 5) In a large pot, melt 3 TBSP butter, then add 3 TBSP rice flour, and mix until smooth. Slowly add about 6 cups chicken stock, mixing until smooth. Bring to boil, then simmer, stirring, until thickened a little. Add mashed pumpkin mixture, and adjust by adding water if too thick. 6) Heat through, and then serve with grated cheese and Greek yoghurt as optional toppings. | The soup above has had cheese stirred into it, the yoghurt plopped on top. Yum! The pic below is of the pumpkin after it came out of the oven. I used a small ring tin to keep one half upright as it was unevenly shaped and I didn't want the butter running out. |
Inspired by fellow vege gardener Katrina P, I decided to experiment with a way of doing pumpkin soup I hadn't tried before. It turned out delicious!
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A hearty, meaty soup perfect for cold winter's nights, and is very quick to make. Left-overs can be frozen and used on days you don't feel like cooking. The seasonings are mostly optional/flexible - use to taste or change for what you have on hand. ![]() Ingredients (to serve about 8 as a main meal): 2 TBSP coconut oil 900-1000g beef mince (prime or premium is best. If using standard mince, drain fat after browning) 2 medium onions, diced 1/2 cabbage, chopped 500g fresh or frozen green beans 1 can butter beans, drained and rinsed 2 good handfuls of chopped parsley 2 jars/cans diced tomatoes (or 10 oz tomato paste for a stronger tomato flavour and colour) 1 TBSP nutritional yeast 3 TBSP tamari sauce 2 tsp garlic powder 3 tsp onion flakes salt to taste Kettle full of boiling water Method: Melt oil in very large pot. Brown mince, and drain fat if excessive. Add onions, cabbage, beans and parsley. Add enough boiling water to cook veges - they don't need to be covered as they will wilt down. Add rest of ingredients, pouring in enough extra water to make desired soupy consistency (can be as thick as you like). Cook for a few minutes, then taste fluid, and adjust seasonings as needed. Simmer until veges are soft and flavours melded, about 10-15 mins. This soup uses left-over cooked pumpkin pieces. I had left over buttercup pumpkin in the fridge, skins on. I've never used the skin in soup before but recent reading on the Vege Gardener group I'm part of convinced me it was a good idea for increasing nutrients and would not detract from the flavour or texture. No one happened to mention the change in colour though LOL
![]() This cheap, tasty and healthy meal is based on a Trim Healthy Mama recipe. I wasn't entirely sure what my family would think, as they're not lentil fans, but they all loved it and came back for more and declared "I could keep the recipe for this one" which is high praise indeed. :-) This recipe is designed to cook all day in the crockpot, so soak the grains the night before, then set it up first thing in the morning. Ingredients: (for about 8 people) This is what I used but it's a flexible recipe - season and add things as desired.
750g Chana Dahl (a yellow lentil) - soaked overnight in a large bowl of water with 1/2 tsp baking soda, then drained 10 cups water and/or chicken stock. I used 2 cups strong chicken stock and the rest water, as that's what I had 2 diced onions 3-4 stalks celery, diced Sea salt (be generous with this if you don't have Braggs) Dried onion flakes or onion powder Braggs or Tamari sauce Tumeric powder Left over diced cooked chicken 1 bunch spinach Method: Put soaked, drained grain in a large crockpot with the water/stock. Stock gives a better flavour than plain water. Add diced onions and celery. Add rest of ingredients except chicken and spinach. Simmer all day in the crockpot. 1 hour or so before serving, add the chicken and chopped spinach, which will wilt nicely. Serve alone, or with suitable crackers or toast. It really doesn't need anything else though, as it's very filling. |
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