Halloween came and went. This time we carved a very large pumpkin. My six-year-old drew the smile on it and I carved it, after scraping out enough pumpkin for this delicious soup. If you have any fresh pumpkin left, try it. I served it last Saturday evening to a friend who was visiting for the weekend, and he requested more of it for breakfast!
I wouldn’t have it for breakfast, but it makes a wonderful lunch or supper.

Ingredients

- A knob of butter (about 2 T)
- 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
- 1 small potato, peeled and chopped
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 tsp curry powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- large pinch of cayenne (or hot paprika)
- large pinch of nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground pepper
- 8-10 cups pumpkin, seeded, peeled and chopped
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- splash of milk

In a soup pot, melt butter slowly. Add onion, garlic, potato and carrot and cook until softened,4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add pumpkin, spices, bay leaf, salt and pepper, and cook for 10 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add broth, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes. Pumpkin and other vegetables should be very soft.
Discard bay leaf

Puree in a blender in small batches, or if you own an inmersion blender, puree it straight in the pot.

Stir in maple syrup, brown sugar and milk. Add salt and pepper to taste. Reheat if necessary before serving.

I served it with a dollop of sour cream the first time, and the second time with single cream. I like mine best without cream.

My first batch was amazing. The soup was creamy, spicy and satisfying, not heavy at all, and almost addictive!
My immersion blender stopped working properly after my four year old son used it to make peanut butter, so my second batch didn’t blend as nicely. The chunkier soup was still just as delicious.

The soup freezes very well.

Enjoy!

Credit where credit is due.
Do visit the blog. Her pictures are breathtaking!

This dish combines the high-quality protein of chicken legs or thighs with healthy, low GI chickpeas (that are also a very good source of protein), tomatoes, onions, garlic, herbs and spices. Drizzled with olive oil for flavor and a boost of satisfying healthy fat. A wonderful, satisfying dish served with brown rice.

Ingredients
1 can of chickpeas (260 gr. drained)
1 large tomato,finely chopped
1 large onion,finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dry oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 chicken thighs or legs without skin
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon paprika

Preheat the oven to 200C

Combine the chickpeas, tomato, onion, and garlic in a casserole dish or a baking dish. Mix oregano, salt and pepper, and sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of this over the chickpeas.
Rub the remaining herb mixture into the chicken. Arrange the chicken on the chickpea mixture and drizzle all with the oil. Sprinkle the chicken with the paprika.
Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 to 20 minutes more, until the chicken is cooked through. Serve hot, with a side of brown rice.

The chickpeas are delicious with onions and garlic,cooked under chicken!

Recipe source: Denise Austin slimming program

Last week our supermarket was selling reduced fat, mixed pork and beef mince at the very good price of €1.22 for 400 grams. The meat is supposed to have no more than 13% fat. You can tell the difference when you are browning it in a skillet without oil!
On the day I went to stock up on meat, I also got some bargains from the produce section, among them was cabbage.
I bought one, knowing the children are not that keen, but I planned on feeding hubby and myself the cabbage and let the children have something different if they just wouldn’t eat it.

I made a nice German cabbage and mince casserole. It is very filling and tasty!

Ingredients

- 1 Cabbage (1-1/4 kg)
- 40 grams butter
- 125 ml water
- 400 grams mince
- 1 Broetchen or 2 slices of bread, crusts removed.
- 3 onions
- 1 egg
- pepper
- salt
- cumin
- mustard
- buttered breadcrumbs.

Remove tough and dry leaves off cabbage. Cut off the stalk. Section and slice as finely as possible, or shred in a food processor.
Place sliced or shredded cabbage in a pot, with the water and butter cut into pieces. Add a dash of salt and a dash of cumin. Cook on medium heat, covered, until cabbage is tender, for about 10 minutes. Uncover and let water evaporate, or drain. I didn’t want to drain the butter off, so I let the water evaporate instead (keep a close eye on the pot so you don’t accidentaly burn the cabbage)

Preheat oven to 200c.

While cabbage cooks, soak Broetchen or bread slices in water and squeeze out as much water as possible, and break up with fingers. Mince one small onion very finely. Mix meat, egg, moist bread, minced onion,salt, pepper, and 1 tsp. mustard together.

Prepare buttered crumbs by melting some butter in a pan (about 2 T), and adding 1/2 – 3/4 cup dry breadcrumbs, sirring until all crumbs are buttery. They shouldn’t form clumps or be too buttery.

Chop the other two onions coarsely.

Place half of the cooked cabbage on the bottom of a casserole dish.
Spoon meat mixture on top, and spread evenly, pressing down with a spoon.
Spread the rest of the cabbage on top.
Sprinkle with chopped onion and buttered breadcrumbs.

Bake in preheated oven until the breadcrumbs are golden.

It’s been a long and rainy week here, and having all three children at home all day, every day, has been a challenge.
One day I took them out to our local shopping center, on the bus. I took the boys over to the indoor play center, and went off to the supermarket to see what nice foods I could find.
I’d never had spaghetti squash, not that I remember, and they had some there among all the other pumpkins, so I bought one to try out.
You can read about the squash, which one to buy, and how to cook it over here

I brought the squash home and decided I’d try doing it with some meat and tomato sauce. I had a carton of chopped tomato with italian herbs, and decided to use that on some low-fat pork and beef mince.

Cutting the squash in half was not fun. I think next time I’ll pierce it and bake it, then cut it! I was afraid I’d chop a finger off or something.

The recipe couldn’t be easier. Make the sauce while the squash bakes.

Sauce:

- Heat a heavy skillet and brown the meat in it. Add onion and garlic if you wish. I didn’t. I was feeling very lazy.
- Pour tomato chunks with italian herbs over the meat, rinsing the carton with a little water, which you add to the sauce.
- Taste sauce for seasoning. I added some salt, pepper and oregano.

When the squash is soft, comb strands out of it with a fork, pile them on plates and serve topped with the sauce and a little grated cheese if you like.

A very light faux pasta dish!

My 5 year old ate it well, my 4 year old very carefully avoided all the squash strands…