Problems with Blogger today - photos won't load as per usual, but I tinkered around and discovered I could copy and paste them from my picture folder.
Rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susan) and Echinacea (Coneflowers), are developing huge seed centers as the weather cools down. I leave them in my garden for the birds to nibble on, and I was quite taken with the sculptural look of the dried petals.
One of my daughter's friends has a farm and gifted this enormous pumpkin/squash to her. She's in the midst of a busy time right now and handed it over to me. It's been sitting around and taunting me with how to deal with it. Today was the day. I started cutting into it, but then stopped to weigh it. 18 pounds! Yikes. That's a lot of pumpkin.
Pumpkin dominated the kitchen this morning. I roasted about half of it in generously sized chunks with the peel, then scraped it off and whirred it in the food processor to make pumpkin puree. That will go into the freezer for future pies or soups.
I also made a very large pot of French Pumpkin Soup (somewhat adapted from the linked recipe). It's full of savory goodness like rosemary, sage, thyme, leeks, and onions. A small amount of cream smooths out the flavours.
The remaining pumpkin was cubed and roasted until tender and slightly caramelized, then I made another soup with ginger, garlic, Madras Curry Powder, and coconut milk.
Both soups were blitzed with the immersion blender into silky smooth mixtures. Some soup went to Ashley and her family, and some went into the freezer. I like to freeze in glass jars, leaving headspace for expansion.
Which soup would you prefer - the herby one or the ginger-curry one? I like them both, but I really like the French-inspired one with herbs.
Both of the soups sound delicious. I don't think I could choose a favorite. I do like squash soups, and it's a great idea to freeze some of the pumpkin to use later on. I almost forgot to write my post for today! Luckily I saw yours pop up on my feed ;)
ReplyDeleteYes to both soups! ❤️I prefer pumpkin soups to pie.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous is Anneliese - commenting from my phone.
ReplyDeleteWonderful photos, Lorrie!
ReplyDeleteBoth soups sound delicious. We freeze pumpkin cubes to be used in risotto and with pasta.
Have a happy weekend!
The ginger and curry one sounds delicious. That’s was certainly a labour of love. B x
ReplyDeleteMmm, if there is a choice between all the things I will take the pumpkin pie!
ReplyDeleteI have never made pumpkin soup. Hmmm…
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful! Well done. Anything with cream would be yummy.
ReplyDeleteThat pumpkin soup sounds delicious! I have a recipe for pumpkin & rice which is quite tasty,
ReplyDeleteThe herby one for me! It sounds delicious!
ReplyDeleteYou'll have a lot of good soup for the winter months. I've probably not had either of these soups but they sound good. I saw your hydrangeas too and love them all so much!
ReplyDeleteSo much work!
ReplyDeleteAnd it was so pretty, you could have just kept it for decor.
Gentle hugs,
🍁🌰🍂🎃🍂🌰🍁
You've been a busy lady. I like the idea of the first soup-the herby one. I need to make some pumpkin soup soon! I hope you hae a wonderful weekend, Lorrie. xo Diana
ReplyDeleteBoth soup sound very appealing. Even though I make lots of different soups at this time of year, I have never made pumpkin soup. I have had it in restaurants, however, and it has always been delicious.
ReplyDeleteI love the appearance of that gigantic pumpkin which has now yielded two delicious sounding soups - what a wonderful deep rich rusty red colour complete with a beautiful verdigris finish.
ReplyDeleteYour soups sound amazing! I need to make a pot soon. I'm off to an overnight retreat with gals from church. Hope you have a lovely Thanksgiving weekend!
ReplyDeleteI also plan to make pumpkin puree with two pie pumpkins I purchased. I was surprised how expensive commercial canned pumpkin was this year so I think making my own puree will give me more and be less expensive. I grow many fresh herbs in pots in my garden so I think I'd like to try your French inspired pumpkin soup recipe.
ReplyDeleteThat pumpkin looks ( looked) so attractive I would have been tempted to keep it for a while just to admire it.
ReplyDeleteI am not a fan of Rosemary so I would be inclined to try the curry one.
I would like the herb version; I have a real problem with curry. The smell of it drives me up the wall. I don't even like to walk into an Indian restaurant because of the smell of Curry. I guess it's just one thing I'm hypersensitive to. Oh wait it's not just one thing I feel the same way about cilantro. All other foods are fair game :)
ReplyDeleteLorrie - oh my goodness, what a handsome squash that is, and you put it to such good use! The other day I got up and had to use some leftover pumpkin puree to make waffles - I was just in a Fall sort of mood! I never met a soup I didn't like, but I think I would lean toward the ginger-curry one! Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving !
ReplyDeleteLorrie, does your pumpkin purée turn watery? Do you use it in baking with reliable results?
ReplyDelete