Pumpkin Soup and Life's Journey


I grew a pumpkin vine this year....we filled an old bathtub with compost and planted some seeds. I toiled lovingly over the plot for weeks, watching an enormous vine grow and flourish, it twirled and took over a substantial part of the back yard. It was a mighty fine vine which produced....absolutely nothing. Not a single pumpkin. Disgusted I gave up, declaring myself a pumpkin growing failure. Shortly after this a small shoot sprouted in the corner of my vegie patch.... a clump of not completely composted compost produced 2 fine pumpkin vines which produced a ridiculously good crop, multiple pumpkins of two varieties ... I couldn't have failed in a more spectacular fashion.
There's a lesson here.....sometimes we get so focussed on following our journey that we forget that much of our route is pre-ordained. Sure, I spent ages tending a barren vine, but the garden had supplied its own fertile little shoot elsewhere. Even when we are flapping about thinking we are working on the essential details, life is quietly looking after the master plan. Have faith.
Here is my go to Pumpkin Soup recipe for the slow cooker ( Busy girl's best friend) 

Ingredients.
Pumpkin peeled and cut into chunks
3 teaspoons of Massel Vegetable Stock Powder ( I choose this brand because it's gluten free)
2 Teaspoons of Curry Powder
1 litre of Hot water
Pepper
Cream for serving ( Or Philadelphia light cream cheese for a low fat option )
Chives
Method.
Throw all of the above bar the cream into a slow cooker for 6 hours on low. 
Puree and serve with a dollop of cream and a sprinkle of chives.
Bam. It's that easy and so good. 
Instant domestic goddess points. My children will not eat pumpkin but they love this soup.
(N.B I used two pumpkins. This made enough soup to feed a football team and then some. Reduce the quantity of pumpkin but leave the other ingredients the same and you will get a more controlled result.)
This year, I'll plant another vine... I'm going to tend to it but not stress too much, as ultimately, I know everything will be OK. The gardens got it sorted.


6 comments:

  1. Yeah, ain't it amazing how things work out sometimes?!? The pumpkins look wonderful and the soup sounds divine. I think I'll save that recipe for when it cools down just a bit.

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  2. Such a lovely post, Ava!!! Life is a great and wonderful mystery!
    Your pumpkins are beautiful!
    Thanks for sharing the story and the soup!!!
    Hugs, Maki

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  3. I have never made pumpkin soup in the slow cooker, I will have to give this a go!

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  4. Love it!! Pumpkins are stealthy or something!! We planted pumpkin a few years back but never saw anything. We let the garden go at the end of summer and it wasn't until later in the Fall while clearing the garden that we found a HUGE pumpkin!!! lol!!!! Neglectful Gardening...it's my thing!!! lol!!! I learned that Fall the pumpkin pie made with fresh pumpkin is unbeatable!! We made pumpkin bread as well. But soup!! I love this idea very much!!

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  5. Amazing story. Just cooked some sri Lankan coconut pumpkin, wish I could say I'd grown the pumpkins!

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  6. They look fab! It's so rewarding growing your own food.. good job :)

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