Happy Halloween

Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients
1 kg pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and cut into large chunks
2 large potatoes, quartered
1 litre boiling chicken stock
50 g unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large onions, finely sliced
250 ml milk
sea salt

Method
Put the pumpkin and potatoes in a large saucepan, add chicken stock or boiling water to cover, then simmer until tender, drain, reserving the cooking liquid.

Heat the butter and oil in a frying pan, add the onions and fry until softened and lightly golden. Transfer to a blender or food processor, then add the pumpkin and potatoes. Blend, adding enough milk and cooking liquid to make a thick puree.

Transfer the puree to the saucepan and stir in enough stock to make a thick, creamy soup. Add salt to taste, reheat without boiling, then ladle into heated soup bowls. Top with sour cream, nutmeg and a few pumpkin crisps.

October

So its been a little while since I last blogged!! Lets see whats happened in that time.

Firstly I took a long overdue holiday, a week in Greece. It was just what was needed a week to totally switch off and forget about work and to simply relax. My favourite part of the holiday getting to swim in the gorgeous clear blue sea every day. My least favourite part - 2.5 days of torrential rain - I've never seen it continuously rain so hard in my life (and thats saying something having lived in rainy Scotland for 28 years).

My friends got married and my gorgeous boyfriend did a fabulous job as best man! I do love a wedding - I'm a sucker for all those kilts!

Now that I've been back for a few weeks the holiday almost seems as if it never happened! Since coming home its been work work work (all work and no play makes Jo a dull girl) I feel like I've put my life on hold until the end of this month when a project I've been working on comes to a close. So many times I've had to say to friends that I can't manage to meet up, and that I'll have to put it off until the start of November. The deadline for the first stage of the project is next Monday and I'm working all the hours that I can to get things finished on time. My boss, having worked on this project for 2 years, has chosen to take this week off, certainly not ideal timing!

On the home front I'm getting a new kitchen fitted. Because of work its been difficult to keep on track of things in the flat. I'm leaving early and coming home late which means I'm constantly leaving phone messages and notes for the workmen as I'm not able to be home when they are there. Tonight I came home to find I had no electric, only the lights work!! Hoping by the end of this week the kitchen will be in - all thats left to do after that is tile.

I feel like I've missed out on my favourite month of the year. I LOVE October, the crispy weather, the turning leaves, people beginning to get wrapped up, Halloween and the prospect of Bonfire Night and Christmas just around the corner. As the 31st is the last day of my secondment I'm going to make an extra big deal of this halloween, I'm going to find the biggest pumpkin I can and make lots of yummy things (in my new oven) like soup, risotto and maybe even pumpkin pie! I'm also going to rent lots of good old scary movies - bring on Jamie Lee Curtis and her kitchen knife!