Recipes

Easy Pumpkin Soup

by Stephanie Leave a Comment

Recipe: Easy Pumpkin Soup

I see it sitting there. On your counter.

It’s been there for a couple of weeks now, hasn’t it?

You keep looking at it every day wondering what the heck to do with it.

I know you just don’t know what to do with that miniature pumpkin you got in your veggie box.

—

Don’t fret! I’m here to save the day!

Last weekend I was thinking of what to have for lunch (yes I’m always thinking about food).

Should I buy a jar of soup from the coffee shop (something we do often enough in the winter months)?

Should I defrost the quinoa or rice from the freezer and fry it up with some veggies?

The truth is that by Saturday we’re at the tail end of the groceries because I shop on Sundays.

Then I saw it.

The pumpkin!

It’d been sitting there since last week’s veggie box delivery. I was going to roast it with quinoa last week for dinner but I never got around to it.

But I had another idea.

Soup!

But I needed something quick though. No time for roasting.

So I chopped it up and made a tasty, brothy, soup along with a few other meagre ingredients I had kicking around.

Anything can go into this soup really; it’s the perfect way to use up ingredients you have laying around in the fridge. Experiment to see where it takes you!

Here’s how I made this easy pumpkin soup…

Print Recipe

Easy Pumpkin Soup

This is a super simple recipe for pumpkin soup!

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Course: dinner, lunch

Keyword: easy soup, fallsoup, pumpkin, soup

Cost: $5-10

Ingredients

2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 baking or sugar pumpkin peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 potato diced
1 rib of celery diced
1 big clove of garlic minced
1 tbsp Italian Seasoning (or half and half basil/oregano)
4 cups water or broth
1.5 tsp pink salt

Instructions

Peel and prep all of your ingredients first (I find this easier than cutting as I go).
Heat a large pot and add the extra virgin olive oil, celery, sweet potato, pumpkin, and potato. Cook for 5 mins.
Add minced garlic and Italian Seasoning. Stir and cook for 1 more minute until you smell the garlic.
Add water or broth.
Salt to taste. I found 1.5 tsp worked well for me, but that it will depend on if you’re using water or broth.
Cook on medium/low heat for about 20-25 mins until the veggies are tender.
Enjoy with a big piece of sourdough bread! Yum!

Notes

I found using a regular ‘ol peeler worked well for peeling the pumpkin.

There you go! Now there’s no wondering what to do with your little pumpkin. Of course, you could also try making pureed pumpkin out of it, and then the sky’s the limit for recipe ideas!

P.S.: Follow me on Instagram to get weekly tips and tricks!

P.P.S.: Get other delicious recipes here!

What’s in Season in Spring? Green Garlic.

by Stephanie Leave a Comment

Since local foods are starting to pop up (literally! I’m starting to see them coming in my garden!), I’m going to start a new series to talk about a few of them and how we can use them in our cooking.

In the past couple of weeks, you may have seen something that looks kind of like a green onion, but not quite.

It has a white base like a green onion although it’s a bit bigger and its green stems are more flat than rounded.

It’s called green garlic.

Green garlic is a younger version of the garlic we know well and use in our cooking. It’s milder and can be used in many recipes. You can eat the white and green parts.

The younger version of this garlic has the same amazing health benefits as its older version making it an excellent addition to your recipes.

Not to mention it’s local and can basically be grown anywhere which is fantastic news for our environment.

Health Benefits of Garlic:

Helps to reduce cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure
Garlic’s sulfur-containing compounds can be beneficial to the upper digestive tract.
We need to eat garlic in our meals at least 2-3 times a week in order to see these health benefits.
Use it raw and cooked. Raw garlic retains its health benefits more so than when it is cooked.
Dried garlic doesn’t have the same effect as raw or cooked. Tastes good though!

Recipe: Quinoa (or rice or millet) with Green Garlic

Recently, I cooked a stalk of green garlic with some leftover quinoa.

Simply slice the ends off of the green garlic and thinly slice the entire vegetable including the green parts.

Put a tablespoon of olive oil into a pan and sauté the green garlic for 1-2 minutes. Add quinoa (about 1-2 cups) and stir. Add a bit of salt and pepper and voila! You have a flavourful side dish. We ate ours with fish.

Use green garlic in soups, stirfrys and as a salad topper.

Don’t let this one go to waste!

Have you heard of green garlic before?

Want More Flavourful Meals? Add Shallot!

by Stephanie Leave a Comment

There’s a little vegetable you may have seen at the grocery store many times but didn’t take because you didn’t know what to do with it.

It has a ton of flavour and can boost the flavour profile of many meals you make at home. Especially those pantry meals!

It’s small, the colour of rust and kind of looks like a garlic bulb.

Any guesses yet?

It’s a shallot!

Have you cooked with shallot before?

What is a Shallot?

Part of the allium family including garlic and onions, a shallot is a small redish vegetable that’s a cross between an onion and garlic. It has cloves like garlic and can be used instead of onion in many dishes.

How to Use Shallots in Cooking

I love to add sliced shallots to roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes. They crisp up and add another layer of flavour to the dish.

Add them to frittatas, salads, or sautee them in a pan before you cook lentils, rice or quinoa for extra flavour.

Lately, I’ve been making a very simple salad dressing using shallots:

1 – 1.5 tbsp sliced or finely diced shallots
3 tbsp of apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 – 1 tsp sea salt
Pepper to taste
1 tsp of dijon mustard (optional)

How to make it:

Add the shallots to the bottom of a big salad bowl and top with apple cider vinegar and salt.
Let it sit for about five minutes. Letting it sit in the vinegar will help to tone down the sharpness of the shallot while boosting flavour to the dressing.
After five minutes, whisk in the olive oil.
Bonus: you can add a teaspoon of dijon to the bowl for more of a bold flavour.

When the dressing is done, I add my salad ingredients over top of the dressing. Layer on the ingredients and toss right before you serve the salad.

If you’re making a smaller serving of salad store half of the dressing in a container for later use. You don’t want your salad to be sopping in dressing.

This dressing is also nice on steamed green beans and roasted potatoes.

Let me know if you try it!

P.S.: Follow me on Instagram to get weekly tips and tricks!

P.P.S.: Get other delicious recipes here!

How to Make Pureed Pumpkin.

by Stephanie Leave a Comment

It’s pumpkin season and although it’s super easy to grab a can of pureed pumpkin, I think it’s so satisfying to make your own sometimes!

When they’re in season, pie pumpkins are inexpensive to buy–I found two pumpkins for $4. Canned pumpkin can range from a couple of dollars to more than $4. You’ll get way more puree by making your own so take advantage of the season and make your own!

Print Recipe

How to Make Pureed Pumpkin

Save money by making pureed pumpkin from scratch!

Prep Time3 mins

Cook Time40 mins

Keyword: pumpkin

Cost: $4

Equipment

Oven
Blender/Food processor

Ingredients

1 whole Pie Pumpkin
1/4 cup water add 1 tbsp at a time.

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400°F
Cut up the pumpkin into chunks. I typically cut it in eighths lengthwise and then halve those pieces across so they're big square-ish chunks.
Arrange on a baking sheet and bake for about 35-40 mins depending on the heat of your oven until you can pierce the pieces easily with a fork.
Once cooled, cut off the peel and cut into slightly smaller chunks.
Add to a food processor or blender*
Add a bit of water (about 1/4 cup) and process until smooth. Add a bit more water a tablespoon at a time if you feel you need more.
*If you don't have a food processor or blender, you can do this in a bowl with a bit of water and a potato masher. You'll have to work those biceps and work that elbow grease, but it should work!

That’s it! You now have pumpkin puree to use in your baking!

OR you can just buy a can next time you’re at the store… 😃

Enjoy!

Get more recipes here!

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