Monday, October 29, 2012

All Things Pumpkin!

Two years ago, I created a step-by-step pumpkin carving video, but this time I decided to take it in a different direction and create a stop motion video carving Tim Burton's Sparky from the recent movie, Frankenweenie. I downloaded the pattern from my go-to pumpkin pattern site, zombiepumpkins.com (It does cost money for the pattern) and got to work! Hope you like it!


I always feel so wasteful when I throw away all that pumpkin pulp so I saved a Tupperware container of the pulp to decide on something to make with it later. I found a cream of pumpkin soup recipe using tofu instead of cream, which works for me because I most likely always have tofu in my house and rarely have cream (and it's healthier). I modified the recipe a little because I didn't want mine to be too onion-y and I didn't have any bacon. I did have some sliced pork in the freezer so I just rubbed some salt on it... Not sure if that made it taste more like bacon..., but it was still super yummy! The bacon/pork adds a nice warmth to the soup while the tofu adds creaminess.





Ingredients: 
-  4 cups of pumpkin pulp or peeled and chopped pumpkin
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 1 large clove of garlic, minced
- About 4-5 slices of bacon, diced
- 1 package of silken tofu
- 4 cups of chicken broth
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 1/2 tsp sage
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp paprika
- salt and pepper to taste

Other Materials:
- immersion blender, or regular blender

Cooking Time: 30 min.
Servings: 6-8

Directions: 
1. In a large pot, add onion, garlic, and bacon in olive oil until onion is softened.
2. Add the pumpkin

3. Add the chicken broth and spices. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 min.
4. Add the tofu and blend together using the immersion blender. If using a regular blender, ladle the soup in batches to puree. Don't forget to remove the bay leaf, or else you'll be eating little bits and pieces of hard leaf!

Salt and pepper to taste.

5. Serve with a little dusting of paprika and enjoy on a cold fall or winter night! Isn't this cute in a little ramekin?
My parents both loved it and they are hard to please! Here's my dad critiquing my food - he had two bowls... after having had dinner!

1 comment:

  1. I never thought of eating the pumpkin I use to carve. Sounds yummy!

    Interesting use of sliced pork (versus bacon).
    Can you taste the tofu?

    ReplyDelete