Fresh Approach Cooking

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Yesterday was a bright and sunshine-y. Apple-crisp.

As nearby Church-bells rang out eleven, I found myself basking in the day, with a seasonally appropriate pomegranate cocktail in hand.

I was sitting in the most delightfully welcoming garden, a space festooned with artifacts of a life well lived, surrounded by happy dogs lazing about.

The Hostesses home, (the space I had to walk through, wide-eyed with awe, to get to the cocktails...I mean, garden) can best described as a compound (many structures, a few paths...voila, you have a compound) offering unexpected twists and turns. Truly charming. Perfectly homey, with a punk-rock ethos. It was flawless.

It was as we lounged in this tranquil glade, right after my hostesses boyfriend popped his head out of the second story stained glass window, squinted his eyes, smiled and asked if we wanted refills on our bevs, that I had my epiphany.

Life is good.

Nothing profound, but it is something important to be reminded of.

Life is good.

And with a bit of this soup...that much better.

When feeling frayed and needing to come back to a zen-space, (something I have mentioned more than once on this site, I'm sure) remember what stupendous friends can offer, what a fantastically beautiful place the world is, and so much more. And remember what a soul satisfying thing soup can be. All that, and everything seems right in the world.

I cannot tell you how quick this is to make. A few moments, and it tastes incredible. You can also make it with roasted squash - that certainly would make it super-fab...

Either which way, I recommend it. Autumn in a bowl.

And now, my peaches, I am off to the spa. (A day getting toasted in the garden helps a girl get her head on straight, but a day at the spa, well, that sets it in stone...)

Now try this, and enjoy!

2 15 oz. cans pumpkin
2 T. vegetable oil
1 large onion, minced (I did this in the Cuisinart)
6 cups vegetable stock
2 15 oz cans chick peas, with liquid
2 T tomato paste
pinch of cayenne
smaller pinch of nutmeg
cilantro or parsley for garnish

Saute the onion in the oil, until tender.

Combine the onion, squash, broth, liquid from garbanzo beans and one can of the beans. Heat a few minutes, then puree. This is best done with an immersion blender.

Add tomato paste, salt, pepper, nutmeg and cayenne. Add remaining garbanzo beans, garnish with cilantro and serve.

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90 % of the pumpkins grown in the United States are raised within a 90-mile radius of Peoria, Illinois

Pumpkins are a fruit that are 90% water

An intense drought this year is going to cost Americans at the meat counter. Weather wiped out hay crops across the region, forcing cattlemen to sell large numbers of stock. Experts predict it will take three years or more for the nation's beef supply to recover. That will hurt consumers, National Cattlemen's Beef Association spokesman Joe Schule says, because supply is a big factor in the price of beef. -Al.com

Wheat crops have failed and forced up world wheat prices and shoppers can expect to see an increase in the cost of bread, meat, fruit and vegetables. Shoppers should get used to the high prices, even if the drought breaks soon. Food industry analysts and economists say prices of certain foods will stay high into next year. For the third year in a row, bakers are confronting big increases in the price of flour and other ingredients directly related to shortages caused by the drought. -ABC News

Labels: Gluten Free, Soup, Vegan, Vegetarian