Pumpkin Peanut Curry Soup

Every autumn I have a craving for my pumpkin peanut curry soup.  I make it once or twice and then wait until pumpkins are in season the following year before making it again. Each time it comes out slightly differently depending on how much of this or that goes in it. Here’s what I did this time-

I roasted a locally grown pumpkin the size of a soccer ball at 375 for 30 minutes or so… I must admit, I totally lost track of time. I have NO idea how long that pumpkin was in there.  I’d say 30-40 minutes. I do know, however, that I cut it in half, seeded it (and saved the seeds to make Mexican Mole Roasted Pumpkin Seeds), covered the flesh in butter, and placed it cut side down into a pyrex baking dish with a cup or so of brandy.  I am sure of that part.

While the oven was preheating for the pumpkin, I toasted a cup or so of unsalted peanuts. Watch them! It’s really easy to over-toast (burn) nuts. Keep an eye on them and get them out of the oven when they’re starting to brown and smell like roasted peanuts.

But, before I even put the peanuts in the pre-heating oven, I had a thinly sliced sweet yellow onion sautéing on medium-low in some of the coconut fat skimmed from the top of an undisturbed can of coconut milk.  I let this start to caramelize while roasting the pumpkin. In the last 15 minutes or so I added a peeled, sliced apple.

So, when the peanuts were done, I put them in the Vita-Mix and made a little peanut butter.  Let’s all cheer for the power of that Vita-Mix. What a rockstar appliance. The next step is to blend all of the soft pumpkin flesh, onion, and apple with a can of coconut milk and a cup or so of water into the peanut butter.  Start on low, slowly turn it up to 10, then high, and then you’re ready to pour it into a pot and get it on the stove.

This is where the fun seasoning starts. I added a few tablespoons of soy sauce, Kecap Manis (called sweet soy sauce- it is palm sugar syrup, like molasses, but from palm), Vietnamese Sweet Lemongrass Curry (available at Savory Spice Shop), and some cayenne.  I let the soup simmer on medium for a while and added some thinly sliced kale that cooked down to be nice and tender after 20 minutes.

Just blogging about this now makes me want to eat another bowl. The creamy peanut-coconut combination is a nice compliment to pumpkin.  It brings me back to a small kitchen in Siem Reap, Cambodia, where I had my first pumpkin peanut curry soup.  Enjoy!

 

Bourbon Peach Sorbet

Peaches. I just love them. I wait for them all year until they are local, ripe, delicious, juicy, sweet, velvety, irresistible… I guess I should say I long for them all year and then eat as many as possible until they are out of season. Then I wait and wait and wait..

Well, it’s that time of year: peach season! PEACH SEASON! I am thrilled! I was consumed by the thought of peaches today after Nathan Miller, the esteemed chef/baker/chocolatier from The Tasterie Truck, asked some friends if they had any requests for desserts with local Colorado peaches.  It had me thinking of peaches all day, and on a near-100 degree day, I had Bourbon Peach Sorbet on my mind when I came home from work.

It’s super easy if you have a Vitamix. You can make sorbet in less than one minute with fresh, seasonal fruits and add as little sugar as you’d like.  I like that.

I added a peach (pit removed, of course), 1/4 cup Maker’s Mark, 1/2 tsp homemade vanilla extract, 1 TB agave nectar, and 2 cups of ice to the Vitamix. Then, with the lid on and the tamper in place, steadily turn it up to 10, then high, tamping it along the way.  It will form 4 golfball size domes when it is done. Turn it off, and serve.
This sorbet was an ice-cold velvety peach delight.  And, there was just enough bourbon for the flavor to come out without overpowering it and making it taste like a whisky cocktail.  It has inspired me to do more with peaches this weekend, and has me eager to taste Nathan’s creations for The Tasterie Truck.  Visit their Facebook page to find out where they are and what they’re serving.  I’m known to be a fan of the whoopie pie.

Olive Oil Pickles

Last summer I had a goal- I was going to learn how to can local produce so I could eat it throughout the year.  I bought some books with great excitement.  That’s about all I did.  I never bought any special canning equipment, and I’m not likely to buy it this year either.  Why?  Not because I’m lazy.  It’s because the first recipe I tried was for Olive Oil Pickles and they turned out so delicious that I olive-oil-pickled everything.  Best decision ever.

Here’s my favorite olive oil pickle recipe from the book The Joy of Pickling by Linda Ziedrich.

  • Approximately 1 pound small or medium-size pickling cucumbers
  • 2 small onions, thinly sliced
  • 4 tsp pickling salt
  • 1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes
  • 2 TB whole yellow mustard seeds
  • Approximately 1.5 cups apple cider vinegar
  • olive oil
If the cucumbers are 2-3 inches long, leave them whole. If they’re larger, slice them thinly.  In a large colander, toss the cucumbers and onions with the salt and let them sit a few hours at room temperature, draining out excess water.
Make sure you drain all of that cucumber water that is drawn out by the salt.  Then start layering cucumbers, onions, mustard seeds, and pepper flakes in sterilized jars.  Cover the cucumbers with vinegar and then pour some olive oil on top to coat the surface.  The olive oil provides a floating barrier against spoilage, so this step is important.  Cover the top of the jar with plastic wrap and then seal it tightly with a lid. Store in a cool, dark place.
Wait a while.  The pickles will be ready in a few weeks, but let them sit a few months.  I’ll open my first jar later in the fall.
Enjoy!

Fennel-Pollenated Salmon

I’ve been on a fennel pollen kick lately- Fennel pollen turkey burgers one week, then fennel pollen grilled tempeh, and now fennel pollen salmon. Maybe it’s just me and my taste buds, but it seems like everything I sprinkle with the spice of the angels tastes better.
Here’s what I created with a gorgeous piece of wild Alaskan salmon…
In the mortar and pestle I ground
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1 tsp Aleppo pepper (pick some up at Savory Spice Shop, or use red pepper flakes)
  • 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
Next, add a pinch of
  • Mexican Oregano
  • Dried Tarragon
  • Fennel Pollen
  • Maple Sugar
  • Sea Salt
Mix up the spice rub, get your nose really close to it, and breathe in. It smells fantastic. I bought a beautiful 1.8 pound piece of Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon.
After rinsing it in cold water, patting it dry, and tweezing out the bones, I sliced it in half (due to cooking restraints in a small space), rubbed it down, patted it with butter, drizzled it with a little Portuguese white wine (just happened to be the bottle I was drinking while cooking), and sealed it in heavy duty aluminum foil packets.

The fish grilled for approximately 10 minutes. I let it sit sealed in the packet a couple more minutes before squeezing a little fresh orange juice on top. That’s right- orange this time, not lemon.

Yum! I served this with some grilled red potatoes and parmesan peas (one of my favorites!).

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A Bolder Table is a place where I bookmark my favorite recipes for later along with some occasional musings. It's my personal digital recipe compilation... Let's say it's my cookbook. Thanks for stopping by! -Megan
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