Autumn Comfort.......

I don't do pumpkins generally. I like all kinds of squash, but I just have such a hard time looking at the colour of a regular pumpkin! That colour orange is the hardest I find to take. But now that halloween is over and all the little pumpkins are half price, one went in my basket for lunch. I love soup, but Mr H is not so keen, so I generally save it for a lunch. Today was pumpkin soup served in the pumpkin shell. It was such a dinky little pumpkin, perfect for soup for one! I caught a glimpse of Saturday Kitchen a couple of episodes back and saw this being made with big pumpkins and various kinds of squash, and thought....'ooooh I could just have a bit of that'....so I did.

Carefully take the lid off the pumpkin, or any squash you are wanting to use. Cook down some onion (I used half as the pumpkin was small) with a knob of butter. Add the scooped out inner of the pumpkin (minus seeds of course). Add some vegetable stock, a bit of grated nutmeg, salt and a good dose of pepper and reduce down a little until all soft and cooked through. Blend until smooth, return back into the pumpkin, put the pumpkin lid on so it's like a little casserole dish, and cook for about half an hour in the oven. Saturday Kitchen added a dollop of sherry before putting in the oven. Maybe if I was making this as a main evening meal I would try that as it sounds very interesting, although if Mr H were to eat it, I think I would have to make it really creamy. I added a bit of fresh coriander into the soup. Serve it with a good chunk of crusty loaf and voila!

Boy this was good.........warming, hearty, aromatic with the nutmeg and spicy with the pepper and it will DEFINITELY be one that will be made again and again.

xxx

De-cluttering.....

...this is actually after I have de-cluttered! ha ha...

....I think maybe a bit more is needed!....

Happy Monday to you all!

xxx

Nostalgic.....

One of my favourite memories.....

....was in a school kitchen. The school was actually a big house. The kitchen wasn't a big clinical affair. It was just like my mums kitchen. The dining hall, was a dining room. The cook was a lovely rounded lady who had the rosiest cheeks and ALWAYS had time for the children. Baking classes in the kitchen were always HUGE amounts of fun.....

...My favourite memory of being in that kitchen was making peppermint creams for our parents...

....I must have been about 7.....

....I loved it.....

....so....

....a trip down memory lane...

.....yes.....what is that you say?......Hummmmmm...yes.....I did say no more baking...

...but to be fair, these were never 'baked'....

...Am I forgiven?...

.....okay then....just the once...

xxx

The day ahead.......

Coffee and yarn.......

.....that sets the day up nicely for me!

xxx

p.s For those of you who asked, the pictures on the last post were taken on my iphone using hipstamatic. I couldn't be bothered to lug a camera around......and  there are no pyramid shaped sand buckets that I know of, they were made freestyle....and the star wellies I have had for ages, so i'm sorry I cannot even begin to remember where they came from! Think that's all the questions answered!