When another gardener gave me several pumpkins, I knew I'd not be carving them for Halloween. I wanted to try Pumpkin Soup!I researched several recipes, some of which included the juice from a sweet orange or lime, nutmeg and cinnamon. I steamed cubes of fresh pumpkin with one of my huge zucchinis, then sauteed celery, carrot, onion and garlic together. Then I added a cube of Vietnamese Chicken Bouillon, tumeric, cinnamon and fresh ground nutmeg. Since I had a bit of organic carrot soup left in the fridge, I added just a bit of that to add richness and sweetness. The result was light, not too sweet, with a pleasant aftertaste of cinnamon. I served it for dinner last night, with a hearty stirfry of mixed greens - mustard, arugula, chard, cauliflower and broccoli seasoned with an east-Indian mild curry. The flavors and aromas blended quite nicely. I save all of my squash and pumpkin seeds. Some will go for next year's garden; the rest are roasted and ground up for toppings and breads.
I've made my last visit over to my garden at Franklin Park, and came home with things the other gardeners threw away.
I brought home celery root (excellent for soup), chard, borage, tomatoes, and some of my lettuce and greens.It amazes me how much is thrown away or left to rot. I noticed cabbages, beets, cucumbers and squash, beans....just so much good stuff that could have been used. Steve, another gardener, had quite a few tomatoes lying on the ground that he encouraged me to take home. I proceeded to pick several up, saying they'd make good salsa; his lettuce and celery could have made a good soup, but they were damaged and woody.
He dug up several of his celery roots, chopping off the fine strands, and handed me a few.
He didn't even realize that once these are washed and clean early in the summer that they add a fantastic aroma to a good soup. (I grew celery primarily for the roots.) I gave him the recipe for root soup, which uses parsnips, turnips, potatoes and leeks.We've had fantastic weather the past week, and I've resumed a 3 day a week jog, just a few miles over on the hills at Old Town. During the summer I had to cut back on this because with my gardening it was just too much physical work. I had to make a choice, jog or garden. I can sure tell the difference when I do not do this workout.
My daughter, Ruhiyyih, is going to run in the New York City Marathon this weekend.
She has been in training for this ever since she was accepted, and has slowly built up to a 20 mile run and beyond. The Marathon is 26 miles, the largest in the world, with over 37,000 participants. Ruhiyyih starts at 10:10 on Sunday, and registered my e-mail so I can get an update every several hours as she runs the course. The transmission of her progress is due to a little microchip in her shoe! GO! 52514! How I wish I could run the last mile with her! (Flickr photo: Paula Radcliffe, on her way to victory last year.)
