Perfect Pumpkin Soup for Winter

[vc_row center_row=”” margin_right=””][vc_column][vcex_image_grid columns=”2″ thumbnail_link=”none” img_width=”9999″ img_height=”9999″ image_ids=”2650,2643″][vc_column_text]We are non-conformists, so this is going to look a little different from normal recipes. I don’t have a ton of time, and I really hate having a dirty kitchen (since my husband and his German-self yells at me). Every part of the below process, except the bread, goes in 1 bowl, 1 pan or 1 dish.

This is certainly not a quick dish, but it is the kind of dish you can walk away from and let cook while you do something else. As with all soups, it is always better the next day, which makes a dinner party very easy on the day of if you can plan ahead.[/vc_column_text][vcex_spacing][vc_column_text]

A L L   T H E 

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Fixings

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(10) 10oz bowls of soup including garnishes & 10 slices of bread

 

Ingredients

 

Bread

  • Crunchy topping (Toss and sauté.)
    • 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
    • 1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
    • 1/4 cup raw sesame seeds
    • 1/2 tsp olive oil
    • 1 tsp salt
  • Base (Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients, form into a frisbee, cover with a kitchen towl and set aside to let rise for 1 hour. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.)
    • 3 cups of gluten free all purpose flour
    • 1 tsp xantham gum
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 1/2 tsp baking powder
    • 1 tsp baking soda
    • 1 tbsp olive oil
    • 2 eggs (cold)
    • 2 tsp yeast + 1/4 cup hot water
    • 1 cup water

Soup

  • Base (Peel pumpkin and cut into 1″ chunks, bake with half of onion, 3 cloves of garlic and cubed potato for 30 minutes, then switch to broil for 10 minutes. Meanwhile chop and sauté all the remaining ingredients (except herbs) until the onions are clear and the rest is a nice golden brown. Add water to the middle of your large pot and put a lid on it until boil. Pull out everything from the oven and toss into the soup. Let cook for 30 minutes. Put in herbs and add additional salt or herbs as needed for flavor. Add more water as needed. When ready to serve, add in coconut milk and use an emersion blender to make a chunky substance. You can substitute using a blender, but only do up to 1/2 of the soup. Do not blend entirely.)
    • 1 medium green, yellow or red pumpkin
    • 1 large yellow onion
    • 6 cloves of garlic
    • 1 potato
    • 4 small carrots without tops
    • 3 stalks of celery
    • Olive oil
    • Salt & pepper
    • Handful of fresh thyme & oregano
    • 1/2 cup coconut milk
  • Toasted pumpkin seeds (Toss and bake.)
    • Seeds from pumpkin leftovers
    • Olive oil
    • Salt & pepper
  • Carrots (Toss and sauté.)
    • 20 peeled small carrots with partially cut tops
    • 1 tbsp honey
    • Salt
    • Olive oil
  • Flat pancakes (Mix together and fry.)
    • 2 cups gluten free all purpose flour
    • 1 tsp xantham gum
    • 1 tsp ground flax seed + 2 tbsp warm water (let this stand for 2 minutes)
    • 1/4 cup coconut oil
    • 1 can Aranciata San Pellagrino
    • 1 tsp baking powder
    • 2 tbsp maple syrup
    • 1/4 tsp salt
    • 2 tbsp olive oil
    • Water as needed for consistency
  • Crispy kale topping (Toss and bake.)
    • 1 bunch of curly kale
    • Olive oil
    • Salt & pepper

 

Important-Information

 

Make sure that you are properly making your pumpkin nice and crispy by putting it first on bake around 300 degrees for about 45 minutes, and then broiling at 500 degrees for 10 minutes. You want it to be a dark, golden color. Make sure to rotate often.

Timing is everything. If you can get the bread mixed and rising while you get the pumpkin cut and in the oven, you will have enough time to lower the temperature of the oven and put in the bread before the soup is done. Juggling is what parents do best, so this shouldn’t be a challenge!

 

Making-Magic

 

Your taste buds are different then mine, so I am going to leave the olive oil, salt and pepper quantities to you. Salt enough to bring out the flavor, but don’t overwhelm. Leave the option to your guests to add a second helping of salt if they desire.

Arrange the soup and its toppings however you think it will look best. Don’t feel shy to give it a go and try something a little outrageous with the presentation and don’t feel obliged to make it look like our version. You can even put a side plate with the pancakes and the carrots and bread if you choose.

 

Conclusion

 

What you will have at the end of your labor, is a hearty and tasty meal. It is more than just a soup, and it is perfect for parties where you just want to sit around the fire or the coffee table, without messing with a formal sit down meal. This is a great meal to have with friends because it is thoughtfully prepared, and in some ways labored over.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row center_row=”” margin_right=””][vc_column][vcex_spacing][vc_column_text]

D O N ‘ T   H A V E   T I M E   T O   M A K E   I T   F R E S H ? 

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Buy Instead

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M E A L   W I T H   F R I E N D S

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Monica’s House, Fall 2011

[/vc_column_text][vcex_spacing][vc_column_text]What fun! I had been staying with my friend Monica on a trip back to London, just having given up my apartment and have moved back to the States and I wanted to see all my friends. Monica let me host everyone at her house. For some reason many of the photos are lost, but the food ones remain and the two photos of my best friends, Surrinder and Monica. I loved being able to cook dinner for everyone and it was a great way to catch up on a sunny, but chilly weekend day.[/vc_column_text][vcex_spacing][vcex_image_carousel items_scroll=”page” item_width=”230px” min_slides=”4″ max_slides=”4″ img_width=”500″ img_height=”400″ image_ids=”2670,2654,2669,2653″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vcex_spacing][vc_column_text]

D E C O R A T E   Y O U R

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Pumpkin

[/vc_column_text][vcex_spacing][vcex_feature_box style=”left-image-right-content” heading=”” content_width=”70%” media_width=”30%” img_width=”9999″ img_height=”9999″ image=”2656″]Celebrate the season with something unique on your table or at your seating area. Decorate for the fall with leaves, or even use mini pumpkins for the serving bowls. Found a few ideas through Blovely Events, too.

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Homemade Creams for Pregnancy and Babies Courtesy of Meghann

RaCo Life Homemade Pregnancy and Baby Creams

Pregnancy Cream Paste

Pregnancy is never a comfortable feat for anyone, especially when it comes to stretching and growing. The most uncomfortable piece of the puzzle is typically the skin during this growth and with it comes a need for soothing. Here are two fantastic homemade cream recipes my step-sister Meghann passed on via my mom to help me get through the last couple of months. With 3 kids under 3 1/2 she is the master of all things surrounding health and wellness for herself and her kids. These are great recipes!

Homemade Baby and Belly Itchy / Eczema Cream

The typical natural remedy calls for Shea Butter with lavender. While effective, Meghann created a cream of her own that has actually made this pregnancy bearable. It stops the itch, soothes and stays moist for at least the entire day. I asked her for the ingredients, and I guestimated the recipe based on the logic system of how they would come together to form a cream like substance. You can easily adjust this as you go if the consistency is not to your liking.

Remember: A little goes a REALLY long way!

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RaCo Life Cream in a Ball JarIngredients are all organic and can be purchased through Amazon:

Version 1:
1/2 cup Olive Oil (infused with nettle)
1/2 cup Coconut Oil
1/4 cup Beeswax Pellets
20 drops Licorice Root Extract
1 tsp Tamanu Oil

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Version 2:
1/2 cup Olive Oil (infused with nettle)
1/2 cup Coconut Oil
1/4 cup Beeswax Pellets
1 tbsp Sweet Almond Oil (add several drops of Calendula + Chamomile to it)
1 tsp Evening Primrose Oil

Mix the olive oil, coconut oil and beeswax together in a jar placed in water in a sauce pan over low heat until the beeswax and coconut oil melt and blend together. When it starts to cool, add in the remaining ingredients. Quickly transfer to a permanent glass jar and seal.

The cream should harden and form a harder substance, but you may have to adjust your recipe accordingly based on your preferences.

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Homemade Magnesium Cream

This is a great way to round out an evening bath and settle in for relaxation. It is thick like vaseline, so a little goes a long way. I use it after a tub when the skin is still moist.

Ingredients are all organic and can be purchased through Amazon:

Wellness Mama LogoHere is the recipe from Wellness Mama (one of our favorite sites)!

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Resources

 

RaCo Life Buy Product ButtonDon’t want to make it yourself? My mom just mentioned that Meghann is starting to sell her batches of creams from Northampton, MA. If you are interested, contact us and we can get you in touch.

Josie’s Gluten-free Deep Chocolate Cake

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]There have been many wonderful people we have met and gotten to know along the way, but our friend Josie is by far one of the most dynamic. And she bakes. We met Josie at the Santa Cruz Market at La Iguana Peridida when we first arrived at the lake. She is funny, vivacious and has a little ‘East Coast Angry’ which makes her real. She is never late to meet someone and she knows what she wants and is not afraid to ask for it; two very rare characteristics of lake dwellers.

Josie came here on a very thoughtful journey… she is what we would call intentional about each and every thing she does. We asked her to work with Iza for 2-weeks just before she heads off to her new life in Hawaii to teach her English and set up a curriculum that our staff could implement. She takes her work very seriously and although she is not a mom or childcare provider Josie met her challenge head on.

This recipe for her famous brownies which made us desperately fall in love with her spirit for life. These are unique and crafted with intention. During Josie’s going away party that we hosted she made cupcake versions, which were also delicious.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_single_image image=”3543″ border_color=”grey” img_link_target=”_self” alignment=”left”][vc_column_text]

  • 1/2 cup (4 oz) butter or olive oil or coconut oil
  • 3/4 cup azúcar moreno (sucanat or brown sugar – best for nutrition, or sugar in the raw)
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup rice flour in 1 cup hot water
  • 1/2 cup cooked black beans
  • 1/2 cup raisins soaked in hot water (enough water to cover completely)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp lime or lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
  • 3/4 cup cocoa
    Optional: 1 TBSP real strong coffee (espresso is good; instant will work too)

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  1. Heat the oven to 325° F or 162° C
  2. Cream butter/oil and sugar. Add eggs and blend well. Add lime/lemon juice or vinegar.
  3. Put raisins and beans into a blender or bullet along with salt, baking soda and coffee (if using). Blend as well as possible (will be thick). Add to egg and sugar mixture along with rice flour paste and mix real good.
  4. Add cocoa and carefully incorporate. Pour into baking dish and bake. For 4 small cakes will take about 1 hour. You’ll have to check with butter knife at this point to gauge how much longer.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]To Josie,

As you fly off into the sunset and head to Hawaii, know that you always will have friends wherever we are! We will miss you!

Kurt, Rache & Iza[/vc_column_text][vcex_spacing size=”30px”][vcex_image_grid grid_style=”default” columns=”6″ title_type=”title” thumbnail_link=”none” lightbox_caption=”true” custom_links_target=”_self” img_width=”9999″ img_height=”9999″ image_ids=”3612,3613,3614,3615,3616″][/vc_column][/vc_row]