Pumpkin Soup to Warm Your Soul

Okay, so my Roasted Pumpkin Soup recipe is a little overdue, but better late than never right? Its a little time consuming but SO worth it, and freezes well too! Remember when I went apple picking? Yeah, thats where the pumpkin came from. But if you don't want to bother with the cutting/cleaning/roasting process, feel free to buy canned pumpkin- you'll need about 4-5 cups (it just won't have that roasted flavor).

Here's what you need:

- 1 (2 pound) pumpkin, seeded and halved

- Salt and pepper

- 3 tablespoons olive oil

- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

- 1 teaspoon ground allspice

- 1/2 cup chopped onion

- 1/2 cup chopped carrot

- 1/4 cup chopped celery

- 1 tablespoon minced ginger

- 1 tablespoon minced garlic

- 3 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock

- Splash of heavy cream (use up to 1/2 cup or don't use at all; I found you only need a little to finish it off right)

- Toasted pumpkin seeds for garnish

I had a devious task ahead of me...

Only half of the roasted pumpkin!

Diced veggies

I could have used a bigger pot...

Finished product! So its not the most beautiful of dishes, but it sure tastes like fall :)

How to make Roasted Pumpkin Soup:

- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F

- Place the pumpkin cut side up on a foil lined baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Turn the pumpkin over and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Place in the over and roast until the skin is golden brown and the pumpkin is tender, about an hour. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Once the pumpkin is cool enough to handle, use a spoon to scoop the flesh from the skin and set aside.

- Set a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the cinnamon and allspice. Stir constantly for a minute. Add the onions, carrots, celery, ginger and garlic to the pan and saute, stirring occasionally, until lightly caramelized. Add the chicken or veggie stock and the roasted pumpkin. Bring pot to a boil then reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.

- Remove the soup from the heat and either using a food processor or an immersion blender, process until smooth (if using a food processor, you are most likely going to have to blend a little bit at a time to avoid splashing and spilling). Place the soup back into the saucepan and finish with cream, salt and pepper.

- Garnish with toasted pumpkin seeds

A Day in the Life of an Organic Eater

So yesterday was my 100% organic day, and let me tell you how hard it is to eat like that. First of all, even finding enough foods that are certified organic is a challenge. A lot of items say "all natural" or "hormone free." THIS DOES NOT MEAN THEY ARE ORGANIC!! I think it is borderline impossible to eat completely organic foods for every single meal. Is water organic? I couldn't find meat that was certified organic. I couldn't find organic instant coffee... what a nightmare. But I managed to make it through the day. I bought ORGANIC: eggs, cereal, soy milk, peanut butter, jelly, bread, yogurt, apple chips, bananas, turkey burgers, barley soup and iced green tea. And $40 dollars later, my quest to eat as purely as possible was complete. Note to self and all attempting to eat this way: WATCH YOUR PRODUCE. Organic produce goes bad a lot faster than non-organic, because there are no pesticides or preservatives obviously. My green bananas were brown by day 2 and they attract fruit flies like you wouldn't believe. I don't really understand this method of eating. I think as long as you watch what you eat and try to eat as naturally and healthily as possible, life will be okay. You are not going to destroy your liver or arteries or any other part of your body by using your daily packet of splenda, or eating low fat frozen yogurt. Life is just too short to be overly conscious. Have fun with your food!

My Thoughts on Living Organically...

So, for my news writing class I am writing a trend story on organic eating. I only felt it would be appropriate to partake in the trend myself to experience firsthand what its like. So I will be venturing to Whole Foods soon and buying organic eats that I would normally buy and not even pay attention to the label. I'm talking organic EVERYTHING- from my morning coffee to my afternoon granola and yogurt to my evening "I need something sweet" craving. This should be interesting...

Apple Chips

I made apple chips. They are very simple. All you do is slice an apple or two very thinly. Then bake them with a little bit of salt at 200 degrees for an hour and a half to two hours. I don't know why I'm posting this, procrastinating studying for history. I think I also kind of discovered that home made loaves are basically just as good as the boxed mix. I mean, you can taste the "home-made-ness" a little bit but I don't know. Pumpkin loaf was successful, nonetheless. Gone are the days when I had time to make everything from scratch...

Homestead Farms in Poolesville Maryland

Applesauce!!

So this is one of the easiest recipes, probably ever. I was sick for the last two weeks and home made applesauce is more of a cold remedy than you could imagine. Here's the recipe:

4-5 apples, peeled and chopped (they don't have to be too finely chopped though, its all going in a food processor)

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

splash of lemon juice (it really brings out the apple flavor!)

Combine all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for about 15 minutes until the apples are soft. Transfer to a food processor and process to your thickness liking.

Tip- for a thicker applesauce, use a slotted spoon to only transfer the apples to a food processor and omit the cooking liquid.

ALSO- the cooked apples themselves make a GREAT topping for oatmeal or ice cream! Yummy....

IT'S APPLE PiCKIN TiME!!

So this past weekend I went to a farm in Maryland and picked APPLES GALORE!! Get ready for some bomb recipes, including apple sauce and crumble! Oh yeah, we got pumpkins too :)

Intro

Welcome to STiCKY FiNGERS!

I will be blogging about food, granted I have very minimum time right now with my school work. Please feel free to give me suggestions on what you would like to see. I am more than willing to experiment with new ingredients and recipes! I'm great at food photography too, so get ready to lickkkk your lipssss