Autumn Recipes to Warm the Heart

Ah, time for soup!

I love soup. Thick vegetable soup with barley, chicken soup with corn, potato and leek, butternut; these are but some of my favorites. Unfortunately for me, hubby is not much of a soup eater and so we must compromise.

This week, I am taking advantage of the fact that pumpkins are in season and I'm sharing some recipes for pumpkin outside of the chop/boil serve with butter as the vegetable in a meal, or chop/boil serve with cinnamon sugar (an Afrikaans favorite). Instead we're showcasing a Pumpkin Puree Pasta, Soup and Pumpkin Fritters.

To start off with, I used a Jarrahdale pumpkin, unless I stand to be corrected (which hubby cleaned for me) and I chopped it into rough chunks and semi-steamed it. Pumpkins produce a lot of water, so I try not to add too much that gets wasted along with all the nutrients. I took out two cups and set aside to cool (for the fritters).

With the rest, I added:

1 tablespoon crushed garlic

2 onions

2 tsp salt

2 tsp mild curry powder

1/2 tsp freshly ground mixed peppercorns

1 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup butter

Pumpkin Puree Pasta with Molasses Glazed Bacon and Peanuts

I pureed these ingredients together and put about two cups over some prepared spaghetti.

I glazed some streaky bacon (cut into thin strips) with molasses until crispy and topped the pasta adding roughly crushed peanuts for some extra crunch and freshly chopped parsley.

With two cups I took out and set aside, I added:

1/2 flour

2 tsp baking powder

a pinch of salt

1 egg

Once mixed together well, it gets spooned into a pan with oil or butter and fried on both sides until brown. Once removed from the pan and set on kitchen towel to absorb any excess grease, you can sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar.

The funny thing about Pumpkin Fritters is that they were my moms favorite! But that's not the funny part, the funny part is that mom didn't eat pumpkin. Not boiled, not roasted, not soup, nothing. ONLY fritters! Making them brings back so many memories of how we would tease her about her funny food quirks, like loving Soup with Ham but refusing to touch them in any other way. Gosh, I miss her!

The children jumped in as I took them out the pan, I was lucky to get even one photo!

With the leftover pumpkin puree I added fresh cream and ate it with a delicious fresh Portuguese bread for dinner on another night!

So there you have it, people! Three other ways to prepare pumpkin that gives it it's own starring role in the show! These are the recipes I've used, they may not be the best, but they work for us, so if you're willing to give it a try, I commend you!

Don't forget to check out the other ladies

from #romancingthehome:

Stacy does a wonderful Butternut soup, you can read about it @sawdustandhighheels

Kylie shares her family recipe for Malva Pudding @ouruniquehome

Liz shared a fatastic recipe for Lamb Curry, the best for cool weather @keepitfrench

and Ramona shows off decadent french dining with her Bouef Bourguignon inspired by Julia Child @rufflesandrust

'Till next time, hope you'll be cooking up a storm!