Wok & Roll by Peter Kwong, (Frederic) Inter-County Leader
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In the blink of an eye, summer comes and is gone already, and fall sneaks up on us with no warning. All of a sudden, we hear rumors that it will snow in a week or two.
I was just complaining that we didn’t know what to do with all the vegetables from my wife’s garden, and that the garden will be resting for the remaining year. Then she brought in a bucket of small green pumpkins. I am not talking a small bucket, my dear friends. That was a bucket of 30 to 40 green pumpkins!
My neighbors have already disowned me, they would wave to me warmly when they saw me, but they would leave the porch lights on at night so I couldn’t leave them my priceless treasures. Yes, I’ve tasted pumpkin pies around Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I haven’t really cooked any pumpkin dishes; well not yet. So, my venturing spirit told me to just go ahead and create some.
“What’s your worry,” it says. “If you mess up a small batch, you still have 30 more left.” My venturing spirit has gotten me in many troubles in the past, but I always have fun; so, what’s fair is fair.
So, I started to do some research on how to make different pumpkin dishes; and I just got so frustrated. Many recipes asked for peeling a pumpkin first. Goodness, “hard as a rock” won’t fit in describing our pumpkins; they are much harder than a rock.
So, I created my own recipe, making my own version of Peter’s Pumpkin Soup. I tried it and let my wife be the guinea pig (so to speak), and she loves it. So, I know it is safe to print this and share it with my dear friends.
Colleen has turned vegan awhile back, and it is frustrating for me as I love my steak medium-rare. But, to keep peace in the family, you got to do what you got to do. So, this recipe is vegetarian. For the meat lovers, throw in a quarter-pound of diced ham, chicken, pork … or whatever you’ve caught in the woods.
Pete’s Pumpkin Soup
Ingredients (makes four servings)
- 2-3 small green pumpkins
- 1 carrot, diced
- 2 potatoes, diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1 cup corn
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoons Pete’s seasoning salt
Method
Instead of peeling the pumpkin first, I just cut them into quarters with a sharp knife, then scoop out the seeds and put them in boiling water (with 1 tsp salt added) for about 15-20 minutes. Now the skin should come right off.
Take the pumpkin out and cut it into smaller pieces. Add all ingredients to the boiling water. With meat, if desired. Boil for another 10-15 minutes, until the potatoes and carrots are soft.
Add the cooked pumpkin back in and cook for 10 minutes more. Do not overcook, as the pumpkin will disintegrate. We want the potatoes and pumpkin to have the same texture.
That’s it, folks; easy and simple. Add some cheese on top of the soup and serve it with hot bread. You’ll be the hero.
Good luck and have fun!
*** Pete’s seasoning salt — 2 parts salt, 1 part garlic powder, 1 part Italian parsley. Mix well.
