Thai Coconut Pumpkin Soup

I love soup!  Always have, and I always will.  Whenever I eat out, I most often choose soup over salad.  I should qualify that statement though.  I'm picky, and I'm not going to choose a generic soup.  I'm not going to choose chicken noodle, or even a tomato bisque over a glorious house made Caesar Salad with homemade croutons, and dressing.  BUT I will be persuaded away from that perfect salad by interesting soup options.  Tempt me with a homemade cream of mushroom, or a pumpkin or butternut squash soup.  How about a spicy black bean soup.  If it's out of the ordinary and something I can't get in a little red Campbell's Soup can, I'm in!  Homemade is the key word here.  I won't bother if it's out of a bag, or can.  You know the kind of places you can count on for a good homemade soup.  

In my little garden this summer I planted a small patch of Sugar Pie Pumpkins.  They are absolutely perfectly sized for making 2 pies, or in this case I big pot of soup.  Each pumpkin produces approximately 30 oz. of pumpkin flesh!  Yum!  I saw a recipe on Pinterest the other day that combined some of my favorite flavors together.  Coconut milk, curry, along with the pumpkin.  Interesting, and tasty.  I decided to try my hand at my version of this soup.  I

sometimes like a little more sweetness to my recipes so therefore you'll notice the addition of a couple of apples.  It's good, and it worked perfectly:)  If you need a Sugar Pie Pumpkin to roast just give me a call.  I've got a small trailer loaded.  Or a 30 oz. can will work just fine.

Thai Coconut Pumpkin Soup

• 3 tablespoons coconut oil (or any oil you have on hand.)
• 1  onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 apples peeled and cored and roughly chopped.  I used Gala.  Choose a sweet apple variety.
• 1 tablespoons curry paste (I used a yellow curry paste.  If you don't have paste, curry powder can be used.  It will be a little different, but close enough.  Curry paste comes in red, yellow and green colors and any will work.)
• 1/2 t. ground ginger
• 4-5 cups low-sodium Chicken broth
• 1 30 oz. can of pumpkin puree or the flesh of 1 Sugar Pie Pumpkin cooked
• here's a link on how to roast a pumpkin
• 1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/8 c. sugar
• Cilantro or fresh parsley for garnish
• Pepitas or pumpkin seeds for garnish
• Cream or sour cream drizzle for garnish

directions:

Heat a large pot over medium-low heat and add coconut oil. Once it's melted, add in the onions and the garlic, and apples with a pinch of salt and stir. Cook until the onions and apples are soft. About 5 minutes. Add in the ginger and curry paste and stir until it is incorporated. Cook the curry and onion mixture for a few minutes.  Add the pumpkin puree. Pour in the broth.  Start with 3 c. and add more later if needed. You can add more for a thinner soup, or less for a thicker soup.    Cover the pot and bring the ingredients to a boil.  Let bubble away for 5- 10 minute or until all the veggies are real tender.  It's easier to blend.  I have an immersion blender that I can blend my soup in the pot.  If not, work in batches and place the soup in a blender and blend until smooth.

 Add in the coconut milk, sugar, salt and pepper, and stir. Cover and cook the soup for 10 minutes until it's completely warm. Taste and season additionally if desired. Garnish with cilantro or parsley, and pumpkin seeds and a drizzle of cream.  

recipe adapted from How Sweet Eats

French Onion Soup with Bleu Cheese Toasts

It is cold around these parts.  Really cold!  Like, freeze your boogers the minute you take a breath cold:)  You know what I mean?  Eyelashes are frosted over in a matter of minutes, and shoe choices are very important.  I will admit to going with style instead of function a few times in the last few days.  I'm staying very warm though thanks to a wonderful husband that keeps our wood stove burning day and night, and keeps this house absolutely toasty!   A fire in the fireplace is wonderful.  It's a different heat than just the furnace.  It warms the house from the core out.  The walls are warm, the tile floors are warm, and I am warm as long as I stay inside.

Soup is important this time of year.  It's like a wood burning stove.  It totally warms you from the inside out.  I love soup at all times of year, but during these cold, beautiful, bleak winter days it's on the menu more than a couple of nights a week:)  James and I went on a date the other night and had a wonderful meal.  If you're ever in Logan Utah check out The Elements.  Lovely!  James had French Onion Soup for his soup/salad course, and I decided since I couldn't give up my lovely Caesar Salad, I'd just have to make some French Onion at home.  Glad I did because it has now warmed me up twice.  Dinner last night, and lunch today.  It actually tastes better the second day.  James makes fun of me for this, but I think the flavors enhance overnight, and taste more wonderful on a lot of things.  This soup being one of them.

I take a bit of the easy route in this soup recipe, but if you're more of the fancy/perfectionist type, go ahead and make a lovely beef stock from scratch.  I don't think you can go wrong with that.  You'll need 2 quarts of broth for the soup.  I also switched up the cheese melted on top a bit too.  I used Swiss, Asiago, and Bleu Cheese!!!  It was delish!!  Definitely a must.  I served with some roast beef sandwiches to dip in the soup and a big Everything Salad.  My all time fave.  So if you need a little warming up I hope you enjoy:)

French Onion Soup with Bleu Cheese Toasts

5-6 good size yellow onions sliced thin

2 T. olive oil

1/2 t. salt

In a large stock pot or even better a large saute pan, place all the onions, olive oil and salt.  Turn the heat up to medium and let those onions start to sweat.  I had the lid on my onions for about an hour and they still weren't really turning brown.  Once I removed the lid, the liquid the onions released, evaporated quickly and the onions started to brown/caramelize.  Once they start to brown turn the heat down to low and just let them cook until they are a a deep brown color.  It usually takes a good 20-30 minutes.  I burned mine quite quickly by becoming too preoccupied when the heat was still high so make sure to turn the onions down, and check and stir them frequently.  

Once the onions were a really pretty color I added:

2 qts. water (or beef broth)

1 packet dry Au Jus mix (If you add broth don't add the Au Jus.)

5 beef bouillon cubes

2 T. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 of a 6oz. can tomato paste (Freeze the rest for use later.)

2 T. fresh thyme or 1 t. dried 

 Bring ingredients to a gently boil, and add salt and pepper to taste.  Depending on how sweet your onions are, you can add a little sugar.  I didn't need any last night, but I have in times past. 

To serve:

Ladle the soup into soup bowls or crocks.  I toasted some French Bread Slices ahead of time to use in the soup.  In each bowl I place a small slice of Swiss cheese in first and then topped it with the toast.  It helps with the sog factor.  Then I placed another slice of Swiss cheese, a T. or so of shredded Asiago Cheese and 1T. of Bleu Cheese crumbles.  Make sure your bowls are broiler proof and place bowl under the broiler.  I waited until the cheese was completely bubbly, and starting to brown a bit.  The bowls are dang hot so be careful, but dig in and enjoy!

Winter Citrus Salad

Tis the time of year for citrus.  We're working on our 7th case of oranges since Christmas.  Did you get that?  7- 40 lb. cases.  That's a ton of oranges, and we have loved every single one.  Most have been eaten in the form of a carrot-orange-apple-spinach juice most days, but there have been a lot of salads topped with oranges as well.  Last weekend my granny brought this Winter Citrus salad to a family gathering and I was smitten.  So simple and delicious, and it boasted the flavor of another favorite ingredient.  Honey!  I call it liquid gold.  That's what it looks like and it's just so tasty.  So now when you have that over abundance of oranges in your fruit basket you can make this beautiful salad.  My kids all liked it as well.  Really, isn't it perty:)  I actually think this is one of the loveliest pictures I've taken.  The colors are so stinking perfect for a winter day.  I'm going to frame it in my living room.  Maybe even in my bedroom!

Winter Citrus Salad

4 oranges with the peel cut off and cut into wedges and then cubed

1/2 lb. strawberries

any other fruit of choice-here are some suggestions:

grapefruit

tangelos

blueberries

raspberries

blackberries

melons (you get the picture)

4 T. honey

1 T. fresh mint chopped

Easy as can be.  Just combine all ingredients together and drizzle the honey over the top.   Stir together and serve. Love on wheels!!

My Day

Cold, austere beauty!

Last Friday was so beautiful.  You know those cold mornings when the whole world looks as if it's been flocked.  I love the way everything looks.  The trees, the ornamental grasses, my kitty's whiskers, and my running friends eyelashes.  Beautiful and white.  I had to share my day and what we had at the bakery.  It's that time again for Red Velvet Love Cakes, and fabulous sugar cookies, but I must admit it was the Reuben sandwich that made me happy.

I love this sandwich.  It's kind of a man sandwich, but you girls out there should really try it.  And none of this sissy, "no saurekraut please".  It just won't do.  Do it big or don't do it at all.  I wish I could say this to customers sometime.  "Ooh!  No apple butter please, no pesto,  no cranberry sauce, oh yuck I hate coleslaw!"  For heaven's sakes just trust me on these things.  Your life would be so much better with these things on their designated sandwiches.  We should all try our sandwiches as God intended at least once, and then you can change it up.  Saurerkraut is a must on any Reuben, or it  just stops being a Reuben.  Why bother then.

Years ago when our family won the "Cooking With Your Kids Contest" from the Food Network we spent 6 days in New York City.  James and I had a different Reuben sandwich everywhere we went.  They were all different, and we enjoyed each one.  When we started making sandwiches a few years ago I knew we had to have a Reuben.  I like mine with lots of cold veggies after it's grilled.  It makes the sandwich perfect. So if you are hungry today or tomorrow I'll be at the bakery, and I'll make you the best Reuben you've ever had.  I promise you'll love it.  And while your here, you deserve a Love Cake too.