Tag Archives: food blog

Pumpkin Soup with Coconut Milk

Which vegetable (or fruit depending on who you ask) says autumn more than the beloved pumpkin? It’s so versatile, you can turn it into a bread, pie, cookies, muffins, and in this case soup. It has a mild sweetness, velvety texture, and a slight coconut finish. Delicious as a meal served with the quick dinner rolls. I make the soup using fresh sugar pumpkin which is small and sweet.

Pumpkin Soup with Coconut Milk ( serves 8-10)

1 onion cut into slices
1 1/4 lbs fresh pumpkin
2 cans coconut milk (reduced fat or full fat)
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup coriander leaves or 2 Tbsp ground coriander
1 bay leaf
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Small pinch dried chile pepper flakes (optional)

Wash, cut and remove seeds from the pumpkin. Carefully cut the skin off and cube the flesh.In a dutch oven, dry heat the onion (place onions in the hot but dry pot) and cook about 2 mins until fragrant.

In a dutch oven, dry heat the onion (place onions in the hot but dry pot) and cook about 2 mins until fragrant. Add to the onions, coconut milk, chicken broth, cubed pumpkin, coriander, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and add salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Turn heat down to low and simmer approx 30 mins or until pumpkin is soft. Remove the bay leaf. Now, to get that smooth velvety texture you can either use an immersion blender in the pot and cream the soup, or you can pour soup into a blender and VERY CAREFULLY puree. Return pureed soup to heat and simmer for 5-10 mins longer. Taste and adjust seasoning. The soup tastes best 2-3 days after it’s been made. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Welcome fall with its blanket of beautiful colors, crisp mornings and pumpkin muffins 🙂 Just the smell of these filling the house as they bake puts me in a more relaxed mood. So slow down, grab a cup of tea and enjoy one of these delicious muffins.

Pumpkin Cream cheese Muffins (makes 24 muffins)

Preheat oven to 325F. Line or grease two (12 muffin) pans.

Muffin Batter

3 1/3 cup flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice mix
1 tsp ground cloves

Sift above ingredients into a large bowl

2 cups pumpkin puree ( canned or fresh)
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Wisk the above ingredients in a medium bowl until smooth. Pour the wet mixture over the dry and mix well. Fill each muffin liner 3/4 full. Divide the cream cheese filling evenly between the muffins. The cream cheese filling will spread out while baking.

Cream cheese filling

8 oz cream cheese at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp flour
1 egg
1 tbsp orange zest

Bake 30 mins. Enjoy !

“Sun-Dried” Cherry Tomatoes

Little morsels bursting with flavor…..that’s what they are! Sun dried tomatoes, even though they are not dried by the sun per say, but by my oven, are such a a treat. They are great on sandwiches, salads, pizza or just by the handful. I’ve had an abundant cherry tomato harvest this summer, and what better way to preserve these juicy globes of goodness than preparing them as follows:

Sun-Dried Cherry Tomatoes (makes about 2 cups)

3 lbs cherry/grape tomatoes
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Halve all the tomatoes and spread evenly on the baking sheet. In a small bowl, mix the olive oil with the minced garlic and drizzle evenly over the tomatoes. Sprinkle them with generous amounts of salt and pepper (taste them to make sure they are to your liking.) Place baking sheet in the oven and roast for 30 mins, after which you turn down the temperature to 200F and continue roasting for 3-4 more hours, or until desired dryness. Cool completely, see if you can help yourself from eating them all, and place in a clean jar or airtight container. I’m not sure how long they keep in the fridge for because mine didn’t last past day 2 since we ate them all. If you have better self control than me, leave a comment with the amount of time yours lasted in the fridge. Enjoy!

Spaghetti Squash with Garlic and Burst Cherry Tomatoes

I accidentally grew a spaghetti squash. At first I thought it was a weird looking cucumber, but it gre larger, rounder and eventually yellow. I’m so glad we got this extra vegetable from the garden. It’s sweet, a bit crunchy, versatile and fun to make.

Spaghetti squash (2-3 lbs in size)
1 cup Cherry tomatoes
Fresh Basil, small handful chopped
3 tbsp grated parmesan
1 garlic clove minced
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Wash, cut the squash lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Drizzle with 1 tbsp of the olive oil on the flesh side and season generously with salt and pepper. Place on microwave safe dish cut side down and cook approx 10 minutes or until skin feels soft. Remove carefully from microwave and let cool enough to handle. In the meantime, in a small pan heat the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil, place cherry tomatoes in the pan along with the garlic. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook on low to medium heat until tomatoes burst gently, approx 6-8 mins. Remove from heat and set aside. With a fork scrape the flesh from the squash into a large bowl stirring gently to break it up. Pour the tomato mixture on top, season with more salt and pepper if needed, sprinkle with the parmesan and fresh basil.