Curried pumpkin black bean soup

Curried pumpkin black bean soup
Originally uploaded by kel h

Curried Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup(ish)

(so, when I cook and not bake, I am not the best at measuring. this is my best guess as to what is in this)

Definately in the soup
-1 can pumpkin puree
-1 can black beans (not drained)
-4 cloves garlic minced
-1 bay leaf
-1 individual container greek yogurt (I have a bunch left over from trader joes, so it is going in everything until we use it up)
-1 large white potatoe cubed (this would also be good with a sweet potato but I was too tired to cut one up)

Other stuff that i am mostly guessing at the measurements for
1/2 cup vermouth
2 cups veggie broth
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 onion chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp dried thyme
1 or 2 cups egg noodles

Here is what I did

Heat the oil in the pot and cook up the onions, garlic and bay leaf until they brown (maybe toss in a pinch of salt)
then add the pumpkin, vermouth, broth and potatoes
bring to a simmer
Then add the yogurt and spices and stir well to incorporate
Then add the black beans and noodles and cook until the noodles and potatoes are soft

YUM!

Halloween Cupcakes...Chocolate PB Spiders and Pumpkins

Halloween Cupcakes...Chocolate PB Spiders and Pumpkins
Originally uploaded by kel h

These are the cupcakes I made for Halloween. I used the recipe for the Peanut Butter filled Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter frosting. I then used a peanut butter cup and snack sized whopper to make the body and head of the spider. I used frosting to draw legs and eyes. You can also sub thin pretzel sticks for legs as seen here:



The pumpkin cupcakes are pumpkin with ginger cream cheese frosting colored orange, with a candy corn for a stem and a spearmint leaf.

Pumpkin Cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 350, fill tins with liners
cream 1 stick butter, 1 c brown sugar, 1/3 c white sugar in mixer. Once fluffy, add two eggs one at a time.
Add 2 c flour (I sometimes like to do half whole wheat, half all purpose), 2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp ground clove, 1/2 tsp salt along with 1/2 c milk.
Add 1 can pumpkin and 1 tsp vanilla.
Fill liners 1/2 to 2/3 full and bake for 20-25 min

Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting
Cream 8 oz cream cheese (I usually use the low fat kind) and 3/4 to 1 stick butter
add 1 tsp ginger, 1 tsp vanilla and mix
add in 3 c powdered sugar a bit at a time until you get the right consistency (may need a little more)

pumpkin stew

pumpkin stew
Originally uploaded by kel h

Mmmm. Rachel Ray had a pumpkin pasta recipe, and i thought it would make for a good stew.

Chop an onion, about 5 cloves of garlic and two or three shallots and brown in a stock pot. Add a cup or two of broth and throw in a couple of handfuls of peeled cubed turnips. Let it boil for about 5 minutes or so then throw in three cubed potatoes and cook for another five minutes or so. Then chuck in a bunch of veggies (I added frozen carrots and pearl onions and some left over frozen butternut squash), 1 small can of pumpkin puree, a can of black beans, more broth to the consistency you want and a bay leaf. Cook for a good while (i dunno, maybe 10 min) and add seasonings to taste. I like a tablespoon of cinnamon, a few teaspoons of cyanne pepper, and i added half a pack of sazon cause i had it. My "cooking" recipes tend to be very vauge because i start with a recipe and then just sort of improvise. It's tasty tho! Just be sure to take the bay leaf out before eating.