Super natural delights...

I love Halloween. Not only is it a fun excuse to hop on my broomstick and wreak havoc, it hails the start of winter feasts and celebrations.

Squashes outside SMBS

Big Daddy!

Winter stews and soups are the ultimate comfort foods. They are like a cosy blanket when you come in from the cold and wet. Easy, quick and cheap to make, they also keep well and can be frozen for another time. Nutritious, nourishing and nurturing. A bowl of good, home made soup cannot be beaten.

(This monster pumpkin and gourds are on display outside SMBS health foods in East Dulwich. The pumpkin will be cut up on Tuesday 2nd Nov and given away. Hope they have a chainsaw!)


So, when I received a sugar pumpkin in my Riverford organic veg box this morning I had one thing on my mind.....SOUP! I must admit, I have been giving this recipe a lot of though! Everyone who makes pumpkin soup tends to follow a generic formula . The soup I created came to me when I was trying to sleep. Obsessed? Me...?!

 My pumpkin soup is a marriage of complementary flavours, with a kick! A caribbean twist, you could say!

Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin soup  (serves 4-6)





I am using pumpkin flesh instead of human, hopefully the zombies won't notice...


Sugar pumpkin refers to the edible kind rather than the "Jack-o'-lantern" type













Ingredients:


1 small/medium sugar pumpkin
3 medium carrots
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic
stick celery
2 medium potatoes
1/2 litre vegetable stock
coconut oil
1 inch piece ginger finely chopped
1/2 can coconut milk
juice 1/2 an orange
juice of 1 lime
1 tspn chilli flakes
1/2 tspn paprika
Cracked black pepper

Toasted pumpkin seeds and rye bread for croutons (to serve)

Start by cutting the pumpkin into 8ths and rub with coconut oil then paprika. Put on baking tray in the oven at 180 degrees for about 20 minutes until soft and roasty looking. Meanwhile chop all the veg ang heat 2 table spoons coconut oil in a large pan. Throw in the veg and ginger cover with the lid and sweat (the veg not you) shaking the pan occasionally so the veg doesn't stick. After 10 minutes add the stock.

When done, remove the pumpkin and let it cool before peeling off the skin and adding to the pan. Switch off oven and put pumpkin seeds on baking tray in oven. Keep an eye on them as they only take a few minutes to toast.

Simmer soup for 20 minutes and then blitz in a food processor or with a convenient hand held blender. Then add the coconut milk and orange and lime juice. Continue to simmer. Add as much pepper as desired and a sprinkle of chilli flakes and 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Simmer.

To make croutons, cut piece rye bread into squares and fry in a pan with coconut oil.

Moist & sumptuous!

Bewitching Orange and Almond Cake: 

This cake is amazing! It's gluten free and not too sweet. It is sweetened with organic jaggery, an unprocessed sugar rich in B vitamins and mineral salts. These nutrients are essential for its digestion and metabolism when ingested. White sugar is nutritionally void and leaches nutrients from the body. I found lovely, rustic looking brown bags of jaggery at Authentic Roots in Croyden. A really fantastic and delightful independent health food shop run by knowledgeable and friendly staff. Ghandi was an advocate of jaggery. And if it's good enough for Ghandi.....This is a low sugar cake, I deducted 100g from the original recipe. The protein from the eggs and the fibre from the whole orange will help the sugar to be released more slowly into the blood stream. However, if you need a lower glycaemic load, you can use Xylitol or coconut sugar which have a very low glycaemic impact.

You can leave out the baking powder and bicarb if dietary requirements dictate. Just expect it to need less cooking time.

 This cake is SO easy to make and will seriously impress with its rich flavour and moist texture. You literally whizz all the ingredients together in a food processor, and bake. Result!

I have to credit Queen Nigella for this recipe. It is from the wonderful "A Fair Feast" cook book. I have tweaked it somewhat by using jaggery instead of caster sugar and added some lovely spices to complement the orange and chocolate notes. Sorry, Nigella, but I think you'll find I improved it.

2 medium sized organic oranges
6 organic, fair trade eggs
1 heaped teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
200g ground almonds
150g jaggery
50g fair trade cocoa
2 teaspoons mixed spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger
Crème fraiche for serving

Pre heat oven to 180 degrees/ gas mark 4 and grease and line a 20cm or similar spring form tin

Boil the oranges  for an hour or until soft, cut in half and remove pips then blitz them in a food processor.  add all the other ingredients and whizz! Pour into cake tin and bake for about an hour. Check after 45 mins. A skewer should come out clean after insertion.

Serve with a blob of sour cream/crème fraiche

Eat the lot.

Only kidding. You'll be sick.

http://www.authenticroots.co.uk/

I'm going to try and sleep now. Although, I'll probably be thinking up my next culinary adventure.

Eat well. Xx

Happy Halloween!!