Pumpkin Zuup!

Another easy way to consume pumpkin other than to bake/grill them (with a little butter/olive oil, honey and salt) in the oven is to make some lovely warm soup.

I used the recipe from Jude's blog. After studying the ingredients required, the affair promises to be a fairly simple and straightforward one (well except if you are a nob-cook like me, he he):
- pumpkin puree
- cream
- water (or stock)
- sugar
- salt and pepper (to taste)

Only thing I must say is to hold back the sugar while cooking the soup until almost done, have a taste then add a sprinkling accordingly to your taste. Also you may wish to consider using chicken or vegetable stock for a deeper flavour. But I thought the water worked just fine (didn't want to over power the pumpkin flavour).

Drizzle a little cream just before serving and swirl it around for some 'interesting' patterns.

I like the heart-shape ones :) *roll-eyes, I know*

I suppose there are more creative ways of dressing up soup, but I'll leave that for another day.

Soup was good but I got a little heavy handed with the sugar (Opps) and unfortunately the soup ended on the sweet side which was fine with me but DH and MP were not used to it. I could have added more water but then I didn't want to dilute it too much. Next time (yes, I'll make this again) I might experiment by adding some lemongrass to the pot and maybe coconut milk instead of cream!! Talk about fusion huh? Too much you think? Lolz

Easy Walnut & Pumpkin Bread

Best thing about this recipe is that it is a 'Mix & Dump' type, with little mess or fuss. Music to my ears especially since there's no waiting time involved. The most time consuming part would be to prepare the pumpkin puree. But if you were like me and had some handy tucked away (or if you are fortunate enough to get your hands on canned pumpkin puree (but don't use the pre-seasoned pumpkin pie filling ok), then this recipe will be a breeze, at most 25 min tops, even at a gingerly pace!! Barely time for the oven to warm up, huh!!!

A healthy and wholesome slice of teabread, the flavors came together perfectly.

Ingredients
Adapted from J.Shapter

275g pumpkin puree
75g caster sugar (used brown sugar instead)
1 tsp grated nutmeg (also added a few dashes of cinnamon)
50g butter, melted
3 eggs, lightly beaten
350g bread flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
75g lightly toasted walnuts, chopped
1/2 tsp vanilla essence (optional)

Method
Pre-heat oven to 170C.
Mix all the wet ingredients together. Slowly mix in dry ingredients and stir until smooth.
Pour into a prepared loaf tin and bake for 1 hour, or until golden and starting to shrink from the sides of the tin.
Turn out and cool onto wire rack.

Best savoured in thin slices as it is a moist and dense quick bread. You will certainly enjoy every mouthful - crunchy bits of walnuts, slightly tangy with the spices and of course, lots of pumpkin.

You really can ask for more!! :) They are a great snack and very addictive. Best to keep it far from reach otherwise you could end up finishing the entire loaf in one sitting (hence why I suggested that you slice them up thinly)!!