Pumpkin Soup

Pumpkin Soup

4 T butter
1 lg onion, chopped
1 medium leek (white only, chopped)
1 lb can of pumpkin solid
4 cups chicken broth
1 t salt
½ t curry powder
¼ t nutmeg
¼ t white pepper
¼ t ginger (ground)
1 bay leaf
1 cup half and half

Melt butter, add onion and leek; cook 5 minutes until tender
Add pumpkin, chicken broth and spices
Bring to a boil
Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes; remove bay leaf
Put in blender to cream (food processor or emerssion blender work well too)
Add in half and half

This soup recipe is something I picked up from Ian’s step-mom. She serves it most years at Thanksgiving and I just love it so much that I make it a few times throughout the year for us to enjoy on our own. I got a ambitious last night and made my pumpkin solid fresh. It was a little labor intensive…not sure if I’d do it again but if you’re curious, here’s how:

1. Start with the little pumpkins (I read those are tastier). I ended up using two and put all of it in the soup
2. Cut the tops off and split them in half
3. Scoop out the inside gunk
4. Cut the pieces again so they’re quartered
5. Put them on a baking sheet…don’t oil or anything…leave em’ plain
6. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes or until fork tender
7. Peel off skin and put pieces into food processor to puree. You may need to add some liquid.

*I don’t think I baked mine long enough because the skin did not just peel off nicely! It was a PITA. I may try this one more time before I throw it in the “I tried…not worth the effort” category but we shall see. Try the soup though!! It’s really yummy with the can stuff.

After they come out of the oven, they are just slightly golden brown

Puree the pumpkins...

Leek, onion and garlic.. Oh! I forgot to mention above that I added garlic ;)


Everthing simmering away before I blended it up and added the cream.

Ta-da! Serve with fresh crusty bread for dipping.

Fursday

I’m not feeling very wordy at the moment so this will be more of a picture post. I bet you’re reeeaaaaaaaallly disappointed, eh?

Should I try and go in chronological order?

We got some bamboo window treatments in the kitchen/living room to block that pesky western setting sun that liked to heat the house to a million degrees in the late summer afternoons.






A friend of Ian’s has a sister who is a very talented artist - Theresa Wear. I think she’s trying to get her own business up and running. We had her do a mural in our garage:































Did I mention Ian bought a vending machine and stocked it full of beer? (I think that was before the mural)


























Hmm, what else?

Oh! We finally filled in the holes, painted and installed shelving & doors in our master closet. It’s nice to finally be able to hang clothes and store things in there. Cool right? I shouldn’t say “we” did it… thanks, dad.

Slower than an Octagenarian with Ankle Weights

I haven't posted a blog in a while because I've been waiting on a new computer at work. You heard me!! What? That's not a good excuse? Well let me explain.

My computer was slow as shit. Slow as molasses. Slow like a speeding microorganism. Slow like watching paint dry. Slower than a geriatric slug on a salted snowed-in street.

I'd mentioned to various people over the past 6 months or so that I'd be much more productive if they'd get me a faster machine and yet nothing would ever come of it. It took a few IT people doing software installations, getting irritated by the speed and nagging enough to the right people for anything to come of it.

For the last 3 weeks I've been eagerly awaiting my new computer. This meant that I had to clear everything off my other one... By everything, I mean personal files of course. I had to be ready at a moments notice for them to come and switch my life out. I burned all my photos to disk and just figured I'd wait until I got my new machine to put them all back on and start my new life. Hello new life, today is your day.

Bonus 24" monitor, I love you.