Pumpkin carrot soup

I made this soup because I had a rather large pumpkin to cook (the last from our garden) and I accidentally froze a whole bag of carrots in our garage. It came out much better than I expected, so much better that it will be made again, soon.

cooked pumpkin, carrots, onions, garlic, oil, salt, pepper, and spices

de-flesh your cooked pumpkin

cut your carrots and onions and saute in oil till onions are softened

add garlic, and spices (here cumin and garam masala) and cook till fragrant

then add pumpkin and salt

for a liquid I used a can of coconut cream

and a can of water, let simmer for a long while

then grate in some ginger

blend well and season more to taste (here pepper)

serve with some fresh cilantro and some crunchy toppings

It is really yummy!

Apple pie/crumble

Apple pie, the classic dessert and apple crumble the ultimate comfort dessert, all rolled into one. I am a huge fan of pumpkin pie, berry pie, pecan pie, but my husbands favorite is apple. So once a year I make him one and I make him a big one in my 10" deep dish pie pan. I use a method I got from cook's illustrated where you pre-cook half the apples to caramelize them, then put the other half in fresh so it isn't all mushy. It makes a really yummy pie and crumble.

We only had one pie crust left in the freezer and all of it was needed for the bottom, so instead of having a lattice top, I decided to make a crumble top. So if you want to make a regular pie, make a lattice top to put on the pie. If you want to make just a crumble, skip the crust on the bottom and just make the crumble topping.

for the filling: apples, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, butter, and crust

peel your apples

and slice half of them

add those to a pan with butter, sugar, a dash of salt, and lots of cinnamon

cut the other half into cubes

toss with lemon, more sugar and cinnamon, and vanilla

half fresh, half caramelized, now let the caramelized apples cool completely

for the crumble: oats, flour, sugar, butter, and salt

mix the dry ingredients together

cut butter into small pieces

blend butter into dry until you have pea sized pieces

for the pie: roll out your dough with plenty of flour

press into pie pan, and chill (I used our 30 degree mud room)

toss the fresh and cooled caramelized apples together

add to baking dish

top with crumble (or lattice)

bake in a medium hot oven

cover crust if needed (I don't have a shield big enough for my 10" pan)

let cool at least 30 minutes on a rack

serve with vanilla ice cream

we manage to eat half the pie amongst the five of us

Apples are rad!

Guacamole

Guacamole is something I love to eat in the winter. You can get good avocados in the winter when you can't get good tomatoes, plus all that yummy fat is great for the dry winters. We do eat lots of guacamole in the summer, but it just seems to taste better in the winter.

Whenever I buy avocados I buy them hard and let them ripen in my house, that way I know they aren't bruised by lots of squeezing. It does mean I have to plan ahead for guacamole, but I tend to always have avocados on hand. Once they start to ripen, they go fast, but you can slow it down by putting them in the fridge if you need to.

avocados, onion, cilantro, jalapeno, lime, salt, and oil

mince your onions and jalapenos

put them in the bottom of the bowl so they get slightly crushed in the mashing

scoop out your avocados

I add a little salt in between each one

juice the lime over the whole thing

add a little oil, pepper, and I decided to add some cumin

smoosh it all together

then taste for seasoning

more salt and more lime

now fine chop your cilantro and stir in if you want it

serve and watch it disappear rapidly

Mole guacamole!