The Sweatshop of Love Blog

I had every intention of making Hungry Girl’s Sassy Salsa Pumpkin Soup last night. My mom has made and loves this soup, my friend Liz sent me the recipe last week talking about how amazing it is. PT had a long and ridiculous week at work, so I was going to be a good girlfriend and make him some focaccia, which is quickly becoming our favorite bread.

But there is a shortage of canned pumpkin. I guess the crop last year was much smaller than usual, and I couldn’t find it anywhere. Pumpkin pie mix? Yes. Pumpkin? No. I went to Target, CVS, Strack and Van Til, and Walgreens and there was no canned pumpkin.

So I got a pumpkin! It’s pumpkin season, they are everywhere, this one cost $1.35, which is probably less than a can of pumpkin would cost me. The problem, of course, is I also needed milk, and my bike doesn’t have a lot of trunk space, so it was a slow trip home.

(See the tape recorder in there, too? I’ve got to transcribe an interview this weekend for Grocer Gram. And my Glorified Necklace! Which I take everywhere.)

I love pumpkin soup made with a pumpkin, so I wasn’t sorry to see that my easy pumpkin soup was going to have to be traded in for a much more complicated one. Because this recipe is worth it.

I made this soup a million times last fall and have perfected the recipe. It is based on the Pumpkin recipe in The Ultimate Vegetarian Cookbook by Roz Denny I found at a thrift store last summer and love love love. The Pumpkin recipe, though, is a PAIN IN THE ASS. I did it exactly like how it tells me to in the cookbook only once, because getting the pumpkin flesh out without chopping up the pumpkin is only something I would do for a very special occasion. A Friday night is not that occasion.

Baking, slicing, skinning, and chopping up a pumpkin is a messy business. But I would do it again. And again. And am going to do it again and again. Because there is nothing like freshly baked pumpkin soup.

Without further ado, my pumpkin soup recipe:

Pumpkin Soup, With A Pumpkin

Serves 4 Really Hungry People

Ingredients:

1/2 a pie pumpkin

1 onion, sliced

Oil; veggie, canola, olive, whatever you’ve got

1 14 oz can of tomatoes; diced or stewed, doesn’t matter

1 cup whole wheat pasta, any shape

2 cups veggie stock

2 cloves of garlic. diced

Vegetables; again, whatever you’ve got! Zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms, carrots, celery, broccoli, corn, and any combination, totaling about 4 cups

Beans (optional) – half a can, or about a cup, add a lot to the soup

Salt, pepper, ginger to taste

Directions:

1. Move your oven rack to the lowest level and preheat oven to 350. Cut off the top of your pumpkin just like you would if you were making a jack-o-lantern, and scoop out the seeds and the loose gunk. No need to clean it too much; you are slicing this baby open soon, so that will make it a lot easier.

2. Bake pumpkin with the lid on for 45 minutes. Take the top off and let it cool until you can handle it. Skin it and chop it up! I think it’s easiest to cut the pumpkin into 4ths, skin it, and then cut it into chunks. Save half of it – it will stay good in your fridge for like 2 weeks.

3. In a big soup pot, saute onion and pumpkin on medium heat in oil till onion is cooked, about 10 minutes.

4. Add veggies and cook for about 5 minutes, or longer, depending on your veggies. Stir in tomatoes, stock, pasta, beans if you so choose, and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and let simmer 10 minutes.

5. Serve! Add more seasonings if necessary – this soup is great with lots of fresh ground pepper.

Last night I made it with two carrots, half a yellow squash, and the left over beans from burritos the other night. It made me wish I had pinto beans on hand because pinto beans are so good in this soup! But mine were all dried. Next time!

The focaccia turned out really well, though a little dense because of the humidity yesterday. It just made it crispier, which is always welcomed.

They kitties were waiting at the table, wondering what was taking so long for their dinners! PT hardly had the patience to let me take this picture, though, our dinner smelled so good!

Saturday is the kick off of a new program I’m starting, monthly workshop classes! This Saturday’s workshop is Knitting with Beads, something that is kind of tricky. Like anything with knitting, and I say this all the time I know, it looks trickier than it actually is.

I’m working out the patterns today, actually putting them down on paper, and I’m teaching myself how to knit with wire.

I’m happy to report that knitting with wire is much easier than it looks. I knit this puppy up in no time.

I started it to be funny, but I actually kind of like it! The beads are ridiculous and of course I got the ugliest gold wire, but somewhere in my head it is cute and wearable. I go to do something else and think about the bracelet, convincing myself it is actually really ugly, then come back to it, pick it up, and re-decide it is cute. We are making them Sunday.

In class we will start with bead knitting with yarn. We have three hours so we will be able to cover everything. Interested? There is still room! This class is $40, including the beads and wire, and it is Saturday from 1-4pm.

This afternoon I have also been working on my new side job of assistant editor-like person for Grocer Gram Quarterly. I’m not kidding. I’m writing blurbs related to food products, like this:

The Quaker Oats Company to Focus on Whole-Grain Oats

For the first time in its 130-plus year history, The Quaker Oats Company will campaign for all its products at once, focusing on the whole-grain oats in its most popular products. “This repositioning helps us elevate and communicate the power of this surprising super grain – the oat – to meet the needs of the growing number of health conscious consumers,” said Mark Schiller, president of Quaker Oats. Quaker is pushing whole grain oats as the ‘super grain’, a key ingredient in the health and wellness of everyone. The ‘Go humans go’ campaign is encouraging Quaker customers to use the super grain to power their bodies and minds so they can live life to the fullest. In the ads the iconic ‘Quaker Man’ offers an encouraging smile to all people using Quaker whole grains to fuel their activities. In addition to boosting sales, Quaker hopes to raise money to help fight childhood hunger with its Quaker Go Project that encourages people to use the energy from Quaker whole-grain oats to fuel forward Through donations, grants, and volunteerism.

I wrote that and it is going in Grocer Gram Quarterly. My life is weird.