thai pumpkin soup

it isnt winter and it isnt spring.
oh, they say its spring.
the calendar shows clearly that it is late september, but it is not spring.
at least not here, not today.
today falls into one of those in-between season days.
its cold enough for a fire, but only just, so you kind of feel bad using the wood. there may be a cold snap around the corner and there isnt really all that much wood left. you know you probably shouldnt, but you do anyway.
its clear enough to put the washing on the line, but even if it doesnt rain, that by no means guarantees dry clothes at the end of the day. the morning mist has cleared but the air still feels damp and cold. well, cold-ish.
i think it may be too 'meh' to even do laundry.
it is definitely a soup for lunch kind of day.
 

this warm thai pumpkin soup can be as mild or spicy as you want it.
when i make ours i leave out the chilli so that the little (who just turned one over the weekend! sheesh time flies!) can eat her share too. the bo and i just sprinkle chilli flakes on top, and though it lacks the punch i used to put into everything before breeding began, it is still perfect for a day like today.
i wish i could remember where i first got this recipe so i could give full credit to its owner. since i found it i have made it countless time. i used to be one of those gals who only liked the traditional pumpkin soup. this recipe has changed that and now thai pumpkin soup is my all time hands down favorite!
this is my first post that contains a recipe that i didnt create and i have been trying a few others from various recipe places lately that are also very good, i will likely be sharing them too (with full credit to the chef in the future)


THAI PUMPKIN SOUP

1 Tbls oil
1 med onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large thumb sized section ginger, grated
root and stem of coriander, finely chopped
1-2 red chilli de-seeded and finely chopped (heat to taste)
1 large stalk of lemon grass, smashed
600-900g pumpkin, peeled, de-seeded and cubed
2 ltrs vege or chicken stock

1 400 ml can coconut milk or cream
2-3 Tbls fish oil (more or less to taste)
1 Tblsp palm sugar
large bunch fresh coriander leaves roughly chopped to garnish
yoghurt to garnish
chili flakes to garnish

in a large saucepan on medium to low heat, saulte onion, garlic and ginger until translucent and fragrant. add corriander root and stem, chilli and lemon grass and continue to stir for about 2 minutes.
add your pumpkin and stock, turn the heat up and bring to the boil.
once boiling lower heat and let simmer until the pumpkin is well cooked and completely soft.
remove lemon grass stalk and bend or whiz stick until the desired consistency is reached. i usually like to leave a couple of pumpkin lumps for the little to munch on.
return to low heat, add coconut milk or cream, fish sauce to taste and palm sugar. stir well and add more stock if you want a thinner version of the soup, if you want it thicker, let it reduce for a wee bit.

this soup is awsome served fresh with fococcia bread - see here for the recipe ( its the tastiest, easiest bread to make and there are never left overs!)

thanks for stopping by - keep warm and enjoy.
xx
jes

for the pruning

i am going to do a wee garden write up at the start of each month. so, for anyone who wants to get in the garden and grow some of your own produce, come along and play....

spring is upon us in the southern hemisphere with a vengeance after such a mild short winter. so it is,once again time to tend and then plant your gardens, ensuring you and your loved ones have a summer full of fresh food and seasonal cooking.

i was always of the belief that if you just put a seed in the dirt and watered it stuff grew. the only issue is it didnt always work for me. because of this, i assumed i was rather toxic to plants, often not getting a peep out of seeds that i planted. i would see other peoples patches thrive and squirm in envy, longing for the ability to live more naturally, but knowing, if i had to survive on my own gardening skill, i would likely succumb to scurvy.
now i know better, and fear of scurvy is a thing of the past.
it takes a bit of attention and work to get the garden off to a good start, but once it is in, a bit of faffing, watering and weeding here and there will keep you on a roll.
i read around and got a bit of an idea about how to approach it all and after a natter with my ma i got stuck in. for a while there at the start i was not so keen on all that work, but, once my garden started showering me with gifts, my mind changed and i found it very therapeutic to get outside and play in the dirt, not to mention how great it feels to pop outside and pick most of what you need to cook with for a meal.

its not too late for you to climb aboard and get your own garden off to a cracking start. we are 3 days into spring and now is the perfect time to be preparing the soil that your vegetables will be grown in. the better your soil, the more you will be rewarded with in the end, so manure, mulch and dig, dig, dig. i have been outside on and off for the past two days with the little, getting to work, turning the used pea straw from the stables into the dirt, mixing in extra horse manure and some great top soil and the castings from our worm farm. i have grand ambitions for this summers garden. i hope i do not end up disappointed.

when we arrived last december, there was no garden, just a square patch of dirt left by the previous tenant. bo and i got stuck in, adding rotted down manure from another horse owner who was giving it away (so we took 3 ute loads of the stuff.) another family here were moving away and gave us their only just touched top soil, which we gladly removed and added to the manure. another great help was my mother, who at the time was looking into the benefits of seaweed on the garden - i got some of that from the beach to throw in to the mix as well.
a few sprinkler hoses and bunch of seed packets later, plus of course, growing time, and we were eating fresh produce from the garden and giving away the excess, which we could not get through fast enough!

when i tried gardening using the moons tidal cycles and realized the benefits it has on growth, i added that to my schedule and am now an avid, if slightly un-educated, follower of gardening by the moon.
(see here for your very own calendar thanks to the team at nz gardener)
this week the new moon hits on the 5th (tomorrow night) so now is the perfect time to be sowing seed for leafy greens, with your root crop going in on thursday and friday and peas and beans being planted the following week.
up until thursday this week i am planting my leafy vege - spinach, kale, lettuce, bok choi, and corriander. thursday and friday, as the moon is waxing moon, so in go the root crops. i am sowing radish, potato, carrots, beetroot and parsnip, and also re-planting my old rhubarb root stock which i divided into 2, plus another variety i dung up and cut off a friends plant.
early next week it is fruiting veg, so the beans, peas and brussel sprouts (which i have yet to have any success with) go in.
with the possibility of a few frosts still to come i am leaving anything that will not survive them until it is more reliably warm.
a few days before the next full moon (16th and 17th) get some liquid fertilizer in on anything you have planted or already have growing. i use worm wease tea from our worm farm and a seaweed and banana peel soup that is 'steeping' in a covered bucket in the back yard.
once that is all done continue digging in your dirt to get it well mixed and worked for the rest of the week in preparation for next months sowing. oh, and any weeds you see, yank them out before the bloody things get too comfortable and take over!
if you miss out on the root crop sowing day, after the full moon on the 22nd and 23rd you get another chance.


if you have found something new to grow and eat, please let me know. i am always keen to extend my patch with new things.
now i am off to play in the garden - happy growing

xx