Pumpkin, spice and all things nice

Aside from seeing them all lit up with flickering candles inside, pumpkins have never been my thing. Never liked the smell of cutting into them for carving; hated pumpkin pie. Had a love-hate relationship with that cold, slimy sensation as you stuck your hand in to rip its guts out; roasted seeds were only ever so-so.

Then I got old. (Or something like that).

I started to like pumpkin soup. Or perhaps more accurately, I started to love pumpkin soup. In my opinion, all blame goes to the chef at the good ol' Geneva lakeside hangout, Bains de Paquis ... no fair throwing in tons of fresh ginger ... I just can't turn it down.

Now, though, I can also (lovingly) blame my littlest sis and Co. thanks to the recent bestowment of an entire cookbook with nothing but PUMPKIN recipes. We're talking Southwest chicken and pumpkin soup, pumpkin chutney, sage-pumpkin risotto, pumpkin-filled ravioli with fried sage, meatloaf with pumpkin glaze, pumpkin cookies ... you name it, it's pumpkin.

I'll have to admit, I was a bit daunted by the prospect of all this pumpkin, but in a spontaneous Saturday moment of bravery (and cleaning frenzy), it was decided that the pumpkin so demurely decorating our coffee table was destined for the pot. Add a bit o'pear, a bit o'onion and ginger .... and, well, just between you and me, we'll soon be giving the Bains de Paqui chef a run for his money.

Roasted ginger-pumpkin pear soup
1. Heat 1TBS olive oil and 1TBS butter in a large saucepan. Add 1/2 C chopped onion and 2TBS minced shallots and cook for 5 mins. Add 1tsp ginger, pinch of salt and 3C mashed fresh pumpkin.

2. Add 2 ripe pears, peeled and cut in chunks and 4C homemade chicken broth. Cook for 20 mins or until pear is soft. Add in 2+tsp ginger.

3. Puree soup until smooth and creamy ... then eat, eat, eat away!

Ms. Not-So-Domesticate plays what's for dinna' ...

Seeing as my sister has been asking for recommendations on cheap, easy and deliciously satisfying recipes, I figure I might as well share my latest discoveries with anyone else who's looking for something new to try. I realise it's not exactly soup season, per say, but I got this recipe out of a soup book that Marcel brought back for me from Japan (although the recipes have nothing to do with Japanese food ...) and it's super cheap, super easy and downright tasty any time of the year! Let me know what you think if you try it ...

PEANUT and POTATO SOUP

Ingredients:

4TBS oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 red bell pepper, chopped

9oz potatoes, peeled and diced

2 fresh red chillies, seeded (or a pinch of crushed red peppers)

7oz chopped tomatoes

1 1/4 C unsalted peanuts (or peanut butter)

6 1/2 C beef stock (or beef bouillon water)

Fresh chopped coriander to garnish

1. Heat the oil over low heat. Stir in onion and cook for 5 minutes, until beginning to soften. Add the garlic, pepper, potatos, chillies and tomatoes. Stir well to coat the vegetables evenly in the oil, cover and cook for 5 minutes, until softened.

2. Meanwhile, toast the peanuts (ignore this part if you're using peanut butter) by gently cooking them in a large dry frying pan over medium heat until they are evenly golden.

3. Set 2TBS of the peanuts aside to use as garnish. Transfer the remaining peanuts to a food processor and process until finely ground. Add the vegetable and process again until smooth.

4. Garnish with coriander and remaining peanuts and ... VOILA! Bon appetit!