Hearty Pumkin Soup

2 teaspoon olive oil
5 cloves of garlic
1 medium bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
2 cups dutch potatoes
1/3 cup dry white wine
15 ounces pureed pumpkin, canned is fine
1 14 ounce can crushed or diced tomatoes
1/2 cup cilantro
1 tablespoon tamari
About 3 cups vegetable stock (you can add more if you like a thinner soup)

Saute all of the aromatics in olive oil until tender (onion, peppers, garlic), about 2 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the wine and cook down a bit, then add tomatoes, pumpkin puree and stock.

Reduce heat to medium and cook for about half and hour until potatoes are tender. Add chopped cilantro and tamari, along with the salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a nice crusty loaf of french bread...yum!

A hearty helping of memories

Tonight we had shrimp stuffed mirliton with yummy crusty french bread and also curry cauliflower soup! I know, it's kind of an odd combination, but it worked. The stuffed squash was taught to me by my grandmother Too-Koo. I would go to visit her after I got married and just marvel at her domescticity. She always had a meal waiting for you when you would arrive, and could whip up a jelly roll too while you were there. I loved our visits together. I watched attentivly as she worked busily all around me. Giving me small jobs to do like chop the parsley or put ice in the glasses. It was an unspoken understanding that she was sharing somthing of infinate value and worth. She was subtly instilling a love of tradition and heritage, of simple details that often get overlooked but it's what makes what we do as mothers and grandmothers (and fathers too:)) so darn special. So here I share what I learned from her on one of my visits, although there was no written recipe to follow. You need your inner grandmother to whisper the exact amounts like I did tonight. Good Luck and enjoy!!!

Shrimp stuffed Mirliton:

1 onion

1/2 red pepper

1/2 bell pepper

1 stalk celery

1 clove of garlic

2 green onions

1/2 lbs. shrimp peeled and devieined

3/4 cup toasted bread crumbs

1 tsp. worceshire sauce

dash of tabasco

tony's or just plain salt and pepper to taste

4 Mirliton or chayote squash

Cut squash in half and place in large pot, cover with water and boil until tender (about 20 minutes) . While that is boiling chop veggies and saute in olive oil and/or butter until soft. Add shrimp and seasonings (tabasco, worc. sauce, tony's or salt and pepper) cook until shrimp turn pink then add 1/2 cup of bread crumbs. When the squash is tender using a soup spoon scoop out just the meat of the squash leaving a nice shell and add the squash meat to the shrimp. Fill the militon skin with the shrimp mixture and top with remaining bread crumbs. Bake for 25 minutes at 375 degrees until bread crumbs are lightly browned on top.

**You could use this same filling to stuff zuchinni or eggplant if the choyote squash is not available.

Mushroom Barley Soup

This soup is one of my winter time staples. It's the time I get to use the turnips Adam grows in our garden, they are so incredibly delicious, they taste like butter. And what really makes this a meal for me is the barley. It's such a hearty grain, so even if you're just eating soup you feel full and satisfied afterwards.

1onion
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 red pepper
2 turnips, diced
1 cup chopped mushrooms (I use baby bellas)
1 clove of garlic
2 carrots, diced
1/2 cup barley
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon sherry or balsamic vinegar
6 cups of water/vegetable broth
teaspoon thyme
salt and pepper to taste

So first start by sauteing the onion, celery, pepper, garlic in a bit of olive oil. Add carrots and mushrooms until mushrooms are cooked through then add the barley, tomato paste and sherry. Stir around so that all the veggies are coated then add the water/broth and spices. Allow to cook on medium heat until all the veggies are soft and the barley is completely cooked (about 1 hour).
Serve with some crusty french bread and enjoy!