pumpkin soup

The garden has been prolific.  It seems strange to have so many pumpkins in June but that is what we have.  It was I get for trying new and interesting  gardening techniques.  I am so used to having winter squashes in autumn but that is not what happens when you mix the seeds all together.

The jist of this means that my freezer is full of roasted pumpkin.  But I still have more!  Pumpkin soup it is.  We do like soup around here!

Pumpkin soup

1 roasted pumpkin, flesh only

1 small onion, chopped

6 cloves roasted garlic, crushed

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

1-2 teaspoon salt

½ -1 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 to 4 tablespoons brown sugar

1 pinch ancho

1 pinch chipolte

2 pinches paprika

1 cup hard apple cider or apple cider

1-4 cups vegetable broth, or until thickness want

In a large pot, over medium heat, heat the olive oil.  Add the onion and let brown.  Add the garlic and pumpkin.  Add the spices, salt, pepper, and cider.  Start with the smaller amounts of salt and pepper.  Add enough vegetable broth to make a thick stew type mass.  

Use an immersion blender or blender to blend until the consistency you like.  We like very smooth.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  

Soup!  The Tall Short Person even liked it which always amazes me.  She used to be so picky.  Small Mister thinks it is pretty yummy too!

crostini

Around here we like soup.  And with the garden producing pumpkins and winter squashes like it has been, pumpkin and squash soup is on the menu.  But no bread with it.  My Beloved is gluten free again and that means my normal sourdough bread is not an option.  I came across the description for crostini and decided why not.

Crostini are usually used as an appetizer.  Grilled polenta with a topping.  I used just a simple parmesan cheese melted in and they worked really well with soup.  They went so well, there all gone.  There is more soup so I will have to make more soon.  Maybe a few with sauted mushrooms on top.  My Beloved would be even happier then.

crostini

1/2 cup polenta, cooked with water, cream, and salt.

1 cup or to taste grated parmesan cheese

Or any other topping of your choice

Place the cooked polenta in a loaf pan that has been lined with plastic wrap.  Cover the polenta and chill.

Preheat the broiler.  Prepare a baking sheet with either olive oil, parchament paper, or a silpat on the baking sheet first.  Slice the polenta and place on a baking sheet.  Place under the broiler for 3 to 5 minutes or until the edges start to get brown.

Pull out the baking sheet.  Turn the polenta over.  Sprinkle with parmesan.  Place back under the broiler until golden.

Enjoy.  These caused smiles around here.

blankets for Small Mister

We have all noticed that Small Mister really likes the color orange.  And that he also sleeps better warm.

We have an old polartec sweater that he likes to hold on to in the truck.  It is orange.  He likes to teeth on my skateboard wheels.  They are orange.  Actually, anything orange, he really likes.

I put together two orange flannel blankets for him.  They both have silky edges.

This one hit the bag so fast as they were heading out the door, you can only see the colors.

How much does this short person like orange?  He put up a fuss when we tried to take this flannel scrap off his head.  Why am I not surprised!

Mama Leone's red sauce

When we got back from New York, a friend of mine raved about Mama Leone's resturant.  He could not say enough about their red sauce and he told me how he and his sister would go there to eat after club ice at Madison Square Garden.  He would ask for a bowl of this sauce and a short loaf.  Then they would close the place down.

I went and looked up Mama Leone's.  They closed in the late 1980's.  I was able to find this recipe online.  I also got their cookbook through interlibrary loan.  I might have to try  a few more recipes.  I gave my friend a jar of this sauce and he says it is close to what he remembers.  He remembers more garlic and I think that would be good.  Also, maybe a nice glass of red wine added to it to.  

But what I really feel is this is a good place to start and do with it what you will.  

Mama Leone's Marinara Sauce

Note:  Adapted from Leone's Italian Cookbook by Gene Leone

6 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup butter

3 large roasted garlic cloves, mashed

16 fresh sprigs parsley, leaves only (I used everything)

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

Three pounds peeled plum tomatoes, chopped (I crushed them.  They were from the garden)

1 tablespoon dried oregano

8 anchovy fillets

2 heaping tablespoons tomato sauce.

In a skillet, heat olive oil and butter.  Add the garlic and parsley.  Saute for a few minutes and let release flavors.  Add salt and pepper.  In a large pot, put the tomates and start to heat over medium heat.  Add the olive oil mixture.  Bring to heat.  Add everything else and let simmer until you are ready to eat.

I actually did this in a slow cooker and it worked well.  Add salt to taste when you ready to serve.

I serverd this with pasta and it was quite nice.  I changed it up a bit and used it for ratatouille and it was quite nice there too.  Just remember mild but full of flavor.  

I am going to add more garlic next time.  Mabye a swig of red wine too.  This is the closest I have followed a recipe in a long time!  But then I was trying to fulfill memories.  What you do for family, huh?

from the garden

The garden has been bountiful.

My Beloved picks tomatoes every day.  Five pounds on Saturday for the sauce I made.  He picked more on Sunday that had ripened in the heat.

He says there are 15 more pumpkins in the backyard.  That does not count the ones in the front.  

The sunflowers are beautiful.  Zinnias are blossoming.  And he picked six eggplants, not counting the huge one in the top picture.  I like eggplants for the flowers and like the fruit too.

He picks kale and chard for his smoothies every day.

The garden is an adventure where there is something new every day.