Winter

EIGHT REASONS WHY A NEW ZEALAND WINTER IS THE BEST:

1. Some days I can enjoy my morning coffee on the back porch looking out onto this beautiful blue sky, and I can pretend its summer


2. The odd cold and windy rainy day gives us an excuse for this:

3. Tamarillo pie, poached tamarillos in red wine sauce, tamarillos on my porridge...



4. The beaches are empty

5. Smudge stays inside more, which means more cuddle time

6. I get to sleep in while the hubby makes breakfast

7. Then the next day I let hubby sleep in while I make him breakfast

8. One last reason a New Zealand winter rocks? Because it gives me a reason to look forward to summer, bare feet and floral dresses!

What do you love about winter? 

X

Molly

Spiced Pumpkin Soup

Here in New Zealand winter has well and truly kicked in, so I've been making lots of warming, hearty meals. I love making soup, and pumpkin is one of my favourites. This is my pumpkin soup recipe - I don't normally measure the spices, I just throw in as much as I feel like, so feel free to adjust it to your taste!

SPICED PUMPKIN SOUP

Ingredients:

1 large pumpkin
2 Tbsp butter
2 large onions
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp grated ginger
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground coriander
6 cups chicken stock
1 tsp nutmeg
Salt 
Pepper
Handful sage leaves
Handful walnuts
Cream

You can take the skin off the raw pumpkin with a knife, but that is too much hard work for me! I simply cut the pumpkin into large pieces, and cook them in a pot for about 15 minutes. Then, I drain the water off and let the pumpkin cool down, before taking the skin off effortlessly. 

1. Melt butter in a frying pan and sauté onions, garlic and ginger.

2. Add spices and cook, stirring, for about a minute.

3. Transfer mixture into your biggest pot, or a preserving pan. Add pumpkin and chicken stock and simmer for 20 minutes. Add nutmeg, and season with salt and pepper to taste (you may not need salt depending on which chicken stock you use, so taste first!).

4. Using a stick mixer, blend soup until pureed. At this point, you can add more chicken stock if you prefer a thinner soup.

5. Stir in a little cream before serving, and garnish with some sage leaves and crushed walnuts.

Enjoy!! This is seriously the best soup ever. 

X
Molly