What's cooking Wednesday

Officially it is Thursday morning just after 6:00. The last two mornings Hope has decided to a previous habit of getting up really early. It's not as bad as when she got up at 5:15 or so every morning for about a month but it's still too early for my liking. I got sucked into Lost last night and decided to forgo putting up my WCW post but now here I am at 6:00 with no paper, most of the house still slumbering and having read most of the blogs I read every morning. So, here is my recipe from this week.

I'm into soup and other comfort foods right now. I'm trying to expand my soup repertoire beyond the one recipe I always make (squash soup). This week I tried a pumpkin concoction that I knew wouldn't be a winner with the kids but appealed to John and I. It's from Eat, Shrink and Be Merry.

Gourdian Angel (silky pumpkin soup with apples and ginger)

2 tsp olive oil or butter
1 cup chopped onions
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp grated gingerroot
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups peeled, chopped Granny Smith apples
2 cups canned pure pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling - that would be very gross)
1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3/4 cup evaporated milk or light cream

Heat olive oil in soup pot over medium heat. Add onions and garlic. Cook and stil until onions begin to soften about 3 minutes. Add gingerroot, curry powder and ground cumin. Mix well and cook for 30 more seconds.

Add broth, apples, pumpkin, carrots, salt and pepper. Bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 12 to 15 minutes or until carrots are tender. Stir occasionally.

Working in two batches, transfer soup to blender and puree until smooth. (I just used an immersion blender right in the soup pot - way easier.) Soup will be very thick. Return soup to pot and stir in milk or cream. Serve hot.

Thoughts: I really liked this soup. It wasn't nearly as sweet as squash or sweet potato soup. I could taste the curry and ginger really easily (so if you don't like those flavours, don't make this). It make a lot so we have a meal (for John and I anyway) in the freezer which is great. One of the best things about this soup is how fast it is from start to finish. You could easily have dinner on the table in 30 minutes.

And now, time for a coffee and a check on the paper again!