Cream of Pumpkin Soup; Season’s Eatings; the update

Mon mari has declared the guest bathroom done!

Of course I haven’t inspected it yet…..

Not that I’d ever find anything that he missed, either intentionally or unintentionally (him missing it; not me finding it).

Still…..

Looks good, doesn’t it?

Since the weather has been getting rather, um, wintry, he decided it would be nice to have insulation on the last wall.

This is the back of the wall that the sinks are on – the other wall (duly insulated) is shared with the master bathroom.

Just thought I’d show you so you remember what it all looked like before we started – and about one third of this floor still looks like.  The unfinished part isn’t heated yet.

The little red arrow points to some of the shears still hanging around.  They used to be on all the beams.  There was also a carding table up here that we move out so the old farmers obviously had sheep for wool.

What I would really like to know is why they just tossed things away.

I’m not using the word figuratively.

It appears they actually threw things away – as in walked to the bank and threw.

We found this today:

It was buried in this bank beneath the walnut trees:

There was another one down there but we couldn’t get it out.

When you think about it, it’s really not such a strange place to throw your cookware….

There had been an old, cast iron, wood burning cook stove down there when we bought the place.  The cookware just followed along.

Tipping it over the bank turned it into an SEP (Somebody Else’s Problem).

And now – one more for the holidays…. If it’s too late for Thanksgiving, put it on your Christmas menu.

You can use fresh pumpkin for this, or the old Libby’s Pie Pumpkin, which is (or used to be) pure pumpkin… Check the label.

Cream of Pumpkin Soup

1 medium leek
1 cup pumpkin purée
1 cup chicken stock 
1 tbs butter
pinch of nutmeg
1 tsp thyme
1/4 – 1/2 cup milk 
1/4 cup walnuts
2 tsp butter

Clean and slice the leek. In medium sauce pan sauté leek in butter until transparent. Add pumpkin, stock, thyme and nutmeg. Heat to boiling, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.
Purée soup in blender. Add enough milk to get desired consistency. Gently reheat but do not boil. 
Roughly chop walnuts. Sauté in 2 tsp butter, just until hot and starting to brown. 
To serve: Ladle into soup plates or bowls, sprinkle with walnuts and serve.

Speaking of holidays – don’t forget to sign up for Season’s Eatings – the international foodie gift exchange.