Pumpkin Corn and Bacon Chowder

Posted on June 2, 2019 by soulfoodie92

With a massive winter front hitting Canterbury this weekend with rain, sleet and snow depending where you are there are only a few things perfect for this type of weather and they are staying at home in the warmth with good company. good food, good book or movie and pjs.

Well for the good food option on this wintery Sunday I have chosen to make a chowder now they don’t have to be seafood based to be good! Pumpkin season is currently here also so crown pumpkins are very, very cheap! I picked a small one up for $1 which was a great bargain. I wanted to make something different this time rather than your standard pumpkin soup which I have a couple of variations on already. So here it is folks Pumpkin, corn and bacon chowder.

Pumpkin Corn and Bacon Chowder

Ingredients:
1 small crown pumpkin, peeled and 2-3cm dice
2 tbsp. garlic, small dice
1 cup. bacon, diced
1 small brown onion, diced
50gm. butter
1/2 cup. white flour
1 litre. chicken or vege stock, hot
1/2 cup cream
1 tin corn kernels in spring water
salt and pepper

Garlic bread to serve

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees fan bake.
Add pumpkin, garlic, salt and pepper to lined baking tray and roast for 22 minutes until tender.
In a large heavy based pot fry onion, bacon and butter cook for 2 minutes until onion is translucent., over a medium heat.
Add flour and stir constantly, cook for 2 minutes now add half a cup of the hot stock and stir in well this will thicken, now add another 1/2 cup of stock and cook out. Repeat this step until all stock has been used.
Do not add it all at once or it won’t thicken properly.
Add cream, corn and pumpkin, allow to simmer for 10minutes and check your seasoning I added quiet a bit of seasoning for it to be a perfect flavour.
Serve with buttery toast or garlic butter.

Makes 3 liters

Paprika and Capsicum Venison Sausages

Posted on April 28, 2019 by soulfoodie92

I love devilled sausages, well anything that has meat and a gravy like sauce to be honest with you! But what if you want to make your own from scratch? I have made a simple yet very satisfying alternative using venison sausages, which could easily swapped for beef finished with a thick bold gravy. I served this simple dish with some sesame cumin roast pumpkin, white rice and handful of spinach. This dinner was on the plate and ready to eat within 30 minutes of starting so it would be perfect for a week night meal!

Paprika and Capsicum Venison Sausages with Sesame Cumin Roast Pumpkin

Ingredients:
5-8 venison sausages
3 tsp. canola oil
1 onion, sliced
1 red capsicum, 3cm chunks
1 tsp. garlic
2 tsp. smoked paprika
2 tbsp. cornflour
1/4 cup. Worchester sauce
2 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 cup. water or stock
salt and pepper
Roast Sesame Pumpkin
1/2 small crown pumpkin, sliced
1 tsp, cumin
1/2 tsp. coriander
2 tbsp. canola oil
2 tbsp. sesame seeds
1 tbsp. garlic, thinly sliced
salt and pepper

To serve steamed rice and 1/2 bag baby spinach

Method:

Pre-heat oven 200 degress fan bake.
Peel pumpkin and slice, lay out on lined roasting dish and sprinkle with cumin, coriander, sesame seeds, slat pepper and oil. Roast for 25 minutes
Heat fry pan over medium heat, add oil and sliced onion sauté slightly and add sausage browning each side around 2 minutes on each.
Add capsicum, garlic and paprika stir to combine.
Sprinkle with cornflour until mixed in well.
Combine Worchester sauce, vinegar, brown sugar and stock in a jug.
Pour into sauces stirring well to avoid lumps, lower the heat to a simmer and cook for a further 10 minutes until thick and glossy.
Check your seasoning, and remove pumpkin from oven this will be tender.
Serve sausages on rice with a handful of fresh baby spinach and the roast sesame pumpkin.

Serves 3-4

Honey Carrot and Sesame Pumpkin Soup

Posted on March 24, 2019 by soulfoodie92

Autumn is here and the leaves are changing colour and its starting to become one of my favourite times to cook, this means comfort food. Crown pumpkin were $3.50 each here which is pretty good for now. So I was thinking of a soup and a pasta dish, first up is the soup. We got some local honey from a beekeeper in Darfield a few weeks back and it was the perfect finishing ingredient for this soup. Pumpkin and carrot with sesame and cumin finished with coconut creamy for a silky finish. This soup is perfect as is or take it up a notch and serve it with sour-cream and toasted seeds.

Ingredients:
1/2 crown pumpkin, large dice
4 carrots, chunky cut
1 onion, rough dice
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tbsp. crushed ginger
2 tbsp. cumin
1/2 tbsp. cinnamon
2 vegetable oxo stock cubes
4 cup. hot water
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 tbsp. canola oil
2 tbsp. sesame oil
1 tbsp. honey
1 can. light coconut cream

To serve:
1 tbsp. sour cream
1/4 cup. sunflower seeds
1/4 cup. pumpkin seeds

Method:

In a heavy based pot sauté onions and both oils for 2 minutes and then add cumin, cinnamon, ginger, chopped garlic, salt and pepper. Cook out until the onion is translucent.
Pour in 4 cups of hot water, I dissolved the oxo stock cubes in this beforehand.
Chop pumpkin and carrots add to your pot and bring to the boil then simmer for 40 minutes stirring occasionally.
Pour in 1 can of light coconut cream, stir in well.
Blitz your soup with a stick blender until smooth and thick, check and adjust your seasoning and add 1 tbsp. of honey.
Serve pumpkin soup hot with a dollop of sour cream and toast sunflower and pumpkin seeds, I mixed my seeds together and baked on a tray for 15 minutes at 180 degress.

Serves:6

Curry in a Hurry

Posted on May 26, 2014 by soulfoodie92

As a cold front hit the south island it brought snow to Dunedin, a good 4 inch’s or so and it’s not officially winter yet. I was feeling a little cold so I decided that it was a perfect day for a nice curry.

As I didn’t have any meat in the fridge or on hand to defrost I decided it was going to be a chunky vegetable red curry. With soft melt in your mouth chunks of pumpkin, flavour bursting cauliflower and carrots you can’t beat anything like this!

This is a great affordable dish to make, with most ingredients already in the cupboard at home it is perfect mild curry fit for anyone meat lover or vegetarian. With only a mild spice flavour it is a perfect curry for kids or people who don’t like as much heat.

Seasonal Vegetable Curry
with
Cumin & Black Sesame steamed Rice

Ingredients:

2 onions, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp. canola oil
4 1/2 tbsp. red curry paste
1 tsp. mild curry powder
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 head cauliflower, large florets
1/2 small pumpkin, large dice
3 carrots, large chunky slice
1 ltr. vegetable stock
1 can coconut cream
2 tsp. fish sauce
3 tbsp. corn flour = 3 tbsp. water
salt and pepper

2 tbsp. fresh coriander, ripped
150 gm plain unsweetened yoghurt

Cumin and Black Sesame Rice
2 tsp. black sesame seeds
2 tsp. cumin seeds, toasted
steamed rice

Method:

In a Large pot, heat oil over a very low heat.
Add onions and sweat without colouring for 5 minutes, add garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes.
Add curry paste, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, curry powder to the onions. Cook for 5 minutes stirring well, the mix with become very aromatic.
Add prepared vegetables and stir coating the vegetables in the curry paste.
Add stock and coconut cream stir well and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
After 30 minutes add fish sauce and check the seasoning adjust it to suit.
Make a slurry of corn flour and water, add this to your slow simmering vegetables. Stir in gently.
Simmer for another 30 minutes, only stir occasionally you don’t want to break up the vegetables too much, while this is cooking it would be a good time to steam your rice.
Pour curry into serving bowl, top with fresh coriander and dollops of yoghurt. Sprinkle steamed rice with the toasted cumin seeds and black sesame seeds.
Serve, enjoy how it is or serve with nanas, or hot flat bread.

Serves: 6-7 people, perfect when frozen and re-heated for lunch or a fast dinner.

This is a great curry to have even though it doesn’t contain any meat it is defiantly a stomach fuller, hearty chunks of naturally sweet pumpkin and carrot with flavour packed cauliflower. This curry was sure a hit for lunch today and possibly dinner tonight also, there was a lot left over.