I made a great dinner Sunday night, so like any good blogger on the make for content, I snapped some pictures and now I'm going to brag about it.
The Curried Pumpkin Soup recipe is from my friend Gredel (thanks!) and it won't disappoint. I paired it with Ham & Cheddar Scones from The Hay Day Country Market Cookbook. Both recipes are very easy. The soup in particular comes together so fast you really won't believe it. Most people would probably want a salad with this meal, but I'm not really a salad person so we rarely make them unless we're having company.
Curried Pumpkin Soup
2 Tbsp Butter
1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp curry powder
3 cups vegetable broth
15 oz solid pack pumpkin
12 oz evaporated milk
1 Tbsp honey
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
chives, chopped (optional)
Melt the butter in a large saucepan and saute the mushrooms and onions until tender. Lower the heat, add the flour and curry powder, and stir until well blended. Gradually add the broth while stirring. Turn p the heat again and bring it to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes, or until thickened a little. Add the pumpkin, evaporated milk, honey, salt, pepper & nutmeg and heat through. Garnish with chives, if desired. Makes 4 servings.
Ham & Cheddar Scones
I usually make these for breakfast or brunch but they were great with the soup for dinner, too. And it's a pretty good basic scone recipe so you can get creative with the additions it you don't like ham. I've never made any variations but you could try other cheeses, bacon, or even just do berries or currants (but remember to cut the cayenne if you don't make a savory scone). I'd say these are a tad less crumbly and more moist that a tradional English scone--but I like it that way.
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, chilled & cut into small pieces
3 oz sharp Cheddar cheese (about 1 cup)
4 oz Virginia or Black Forest ham, diced
1 egg
2/3 cup milk
2 Tbsp milk, for glaze
Preheat oven to 400F. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, salt, baking powder & cayenne. Use a hand pasty blender or food processor to work in the butter until the bits are no larger than small grains of rice. Add cheese & ham and toss, separating any clumps of cheese that form.
Whisk the egg and 2/3 cup of milk together in a small bowl then add it to the dry ingredients. Stir until everything is moist and a soft dough is formed--it will be slightly tacky & crumbly.
With lightly floured hands, gather the dough together. Using the palm of your hand, press it out onto an ungreased or parchment-lined baking sheet to form an 8-inch round.
Use a long sharp knife to divide the round into 8 equal wedges. Pull the wedges apart. Brush each piece with the 2 Tbsp of milk on all sides.
Bake until lightly browned and nearly doubled in size, 18 to 20 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature.
We especially love topour this soup into big mugs, pile the scones in a basket and eat it out at the firepit in the fall. It's the best.