What a Weekend!

We had a wonderful weekend away. Matt, Callum and I headed up to Daylesford for the weekend. No snow but we didn’t care it was just great to be able to spend the time together. It’s not something that we do a lot of lately. We arrvied somewhat late on friday night but before 8pm. As it turns out I picked a hoilday rental that was out on a nice muddy road and my little red car is now overly muddy itself, something tells me we should have taken the blue machine. The studio has an amazing fire place and I was hooked! It’s one of the reasons why I picked it, but once we got that fire going there was no way I was moving, well apart from a nice dinner am I after all a foodie! Callum spent most of his weekend doing what he is doing here, running around and enjoying the country and I may as well face it he really misses it a lot. He loved the long forest drive into the studio and most of all the Kangaroos that where out in the mornings to say hello!

One part of our trip we stopped by the chocolate mill! And yes boy does it live up to it’s name! We have so much chocolate I don’t know what to do with it.

At the Chocolate Mill they has this amazing spider table and chair and I just fell in love with it. However for $750.00 maybe Santa may buy it for me for Christmas.

We ended up cutting our little getaway a bit short due to my eyes again 🙁 Yes me not happy about it but the Stye in my left eye started to come up and plus I had a tupperware party to go to! So much more to say about the tupperware party here. Thanks for having as Rebecca and I had a ball meeting some wonderful Opendiary people! And I have to say you guys where the first people I have met 🙂

I had promised Matt that I would make him pumpkin soup for Sunday night dinner!

So starting with some Butternut Pumpkin that I got on Friday afterwork from the South Melbourne Markets.

I have used a number of pumpkin soup recipes in the past. In all honesty they can get quite fiddly and annoying. They go against the spirit of soup in some ways, as I believe soup making should be an easy process, and the ingredients should be simple and few. This pumpkin soup thrills me to my core as it is the very simplest I have found as well as being the very best. I begin by chopping 1 kg of butternut pumpkin into smallish bits. I specify butternut here both for its lovely flavour as well as its ease of peeling. I like to cut mine into wedges, to which then I place on a tray into a hot oven for 20 mintues to bake and bring out the taste.

The soup was for starters so while that was in the oven I started on the main course which was a roast chicken.

By the time I have finished off doing the chicken and some sweet potato the pumpkin is cooked and ready to come out.

Mmmm the whole house smelt of pumpkin!

You also need to dice two onions. Spending a little bit of time and dicing them finely gives a better result in my experience, but if you’re pushed for time just big hunks of onion will do just fine. The onion goes into a big soup pan with a splash (or two) of olive oil, and needs to be cooked until brown and luscious. I spend ages on this step. I don’t have the flame up too high, just have it muddling along at a slow rate and I let the onions really get cosy in there as they melt and colour and really become all they can possibly be.

Once that part is done I start to add in about 4 lt of chicken stock and I get out my potato masher and I mash away.

 Here it all is, mashed and cooking away.

Now once I have added all the stock I bring out my trusty hand mixer and I mix away, I find this just saves time and doesn’t dirty my food processer! I think it works just as great and gives a great smooth mix.

Mmm cream, pumpkin and bread I can’t say there is anymore more yummy! Mind you this soup doesn’t last long around my house but I did get to most of it away in my tupperware this time for Matt to take away with him. I couldn’y even finish my little bowl let alonw one of these big ones, but Matt and Megs ate it all down while Callum and I had some smaller bowls of soup.

Ohh and here is the chicken after it was finished cooking! Matt and Callum had this with green vegys and later I pick at it for left overs to make sandwhiches with!

So much for a relaxing weekend! Mind you deep down I loved the full onness of it!

 

Arhhh Bed I hear you crying my name!