Spooks on sticks and delicious pumpkin soup as nights draw in

The clocks have gone back and now it is dark by teatime. I like this time of year as it means cosy evenings, comforting food and festivities.
Warming Halloween dishWarming Halloween dish
Warming Halloween dish

First up is Halloween. This year I think more people will stay indoors and perhaps make fun spooky things to enjoy. I like to make spooky things on sticks.

If you take a sweetie lolly, cover it with a square of kitchen roll, tie under it with ribbon, string or wool, you have a ghost, just draw on eyes and mouth.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Or if you like a marshmallow, skewer one and using an edible pen (I bought mine at Asda) draw on spooky faces, easy as pumpkin pie!

On the pumpkin front, when I was a child we had never heard of them, apart from as Cinderella’s coach.

We had the job of hollowing out a turnip with a spoon, so much easier these days with a pumpkin. There is not so much flesh in a pumpkin, but it can be used in a variety of ways. I made a tasty soup, nice and creamy but vegan as I used coconut milk.

I chopped up a large onion, two sticks of celery and a sweet potato. I sautéed them for a few minutes in a pan using a little vegetable oil. Then I added the pumpkin flesh plus a couple of fat cloves of minced garlic.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

I added a teaspoon of allspice and one of cinnamon as these are very good flavours with pumpkin and squashes. I added half a teaspoon of chilli flakes and some fresh sage, then salt and pepper to taste, a splash of white wine vinegar and about 750ml veg stock.

Bubble up until all vegetables are tender. I finished with 200ml light coconut milk then put everything through the blender. Wash then bake the seeds in a low oven to scatter on the soup, delicious!

Next week it is bonfire night. We won’t buy fireworks, but weather permitting will be lighting up our garden stove and sitting out with something tasty and a glass of something to warm the cockles.

I shall be sharing the recipe with you all.

Stay safe.

www.karenwrightbakes.co.uk

Related topics: