Planet Pumpkin

Another World

   It's time to see one of the most haunting sights of autumn here in the fenlands of the east, thousands of ripe pumpkins lay among acres of wind dried soil. These Halloween icons stretch as far as the eye can see, a rich sea of giant orange pebbles covering the horizon, every year producing a most amazing welcome to winter. For weeks now the mass collection of this harvest as been going on, supplying retailers all over the country and of course supplying children everywhere with Halloween lanterns to carve and light on that magical evening.

   For the first time this weekend I'm making pumpkin soup, a real first for me and in fact not just a first for the soup but it will be my first ever taste of pumpkin full stop !  It may seem strange coming from a village boy who loves most vegetables but I guess they never really appealed to me, so it's time I gave them a try. With the never ending supply available here it seems silly to miss out on a winter treat that can be frozen ready for those colder months.
   With the apple harvest coming to an end in my garden it will make a nice change to cook and freeze something different, it's a wonder I haven't been dreaming of apples after all I've peeled and cooked in the last month. So we are now looking towards soups, you can't beat a bowl of hot soup for a winter lunch, rich rustic filling soup with home made bread and with the freezer still having plenty of spare room to fill there will be no stopping me. Yes I know tins of soup are quicker and easier and some will say cheap to buy, but why would I want tinned soup when I can enjoy my own, most of which will cost just the price of the power used to cook it and full of goodness too.
   You all know the trouble I had last Christmas time with my health and since then my life as turned around so much, food wise gone are the days of fried dinners, no fish and chips and none of the rubbish snacks that were part of out shopping basket every week. I find now that I enjoy the taste of my food more and with the idea of warm winter meals on the way means I'm one happy guy.
   On the bead front, this week as been busy and today I hope to catch up on a few jobs I have left. I need to make more seaglass beads for commissions too, so this will mean a fun day at some point. With this return of the warm weather it's been a hot job this last few days but then I shouldn't moan as I'll be happy working beside my kiln in the cooler months ahead.