Back in the kitchen again!

Welcome to our new home...

...it is such a calm and inviting home, a place where we can relax and step back from the busyness of life.

For more photos you can visit my Elefantz blog HERE.

A new kitchen is quite a boon for me; it's larger, brighter, and has more bench space to play on.

We are just a few doors from Lissner Park and each Saturday a local farmer brings his fruit and vegetables, along with produce from neighbouring farms, to the park to sell. Everything is wonderfully fresh, cheaper than the supermarket, and seasonal - such a blessing for us, and it's wonderful for the farmers. I'll be there with my bags every Saturday morning from now on!

Yesterday I made a big pot of chicken stock...

...and started a new batch of sour dough starter.

It will take a few days for the starter to be ready for breadmaking, but the stock was used today to make a favourite soup for the kids.

First, let me confess that my children *hate* pumpkin and avoid vegetables as much as possible. However, there is one vegetable soup they devour! My 'Spicy Chicken and Pumpkin Soup'...which really should have been named 'leftover veggies' soup because that was how it came about six years ago.

Jenny's ~Spicy Chicken and Pumpkin Soup~

To make your own chicken stock you'll need to roast a chicken, remove all the meat, and boil the bones with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and some basic veg such as onion, celery, carrots and parsley.

Simmer very gently for a few hours. Let it go cold, strain and discard the bones and veg, and use the stock for this soup (or freeze it for later use with other recipes).

Place the chicken stock into a large pot. Add an assortment of vegetables - anything you have on hand that needs to be used is great. I used corn, capsicum, carrots, onions, garlic, bok choy and zucchini.

Add to that the flesh of half a whole pumkin.

Bring to the boil and simmer for an hour.

If you have a stick blender you can blend/puree all the ingredients in the pot as I do, but if not you'll need to let the soup cool before you use a large blender for the same result.

Now add to the pureed soup - 

2 tablespoons curry paste

1 teaspoon garam masala powder

1/2 cup coconut cream

...and a cup or two of chopped chicken meat (from the chicken you roasted the day before to make stock).

Serve in deep bowls with toast, and enjoy it outside amongst the trees with someone you love. 

No leftovers.

What have you been making while I was away?

Any recipes to share?

Healthy Hugs,

Jenny