Bisquing the night away

The first order of business once I got back from break was what to do with the pumpkin I bought in December. Pumpkins last a long time, but they take a long time to prepare for cooking purposes.

Eventually, yesterday and today, I got around to making a bisque.




Roasted Pumpkin Bisque with Bacon

Food:
1 3-4 lb pumpkin
1/3 cup half-and-half
1 1/2 tsp Better than Boullion Chicken Base
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 strips bacon
water (depends)


Tools:
2 quart pot
frying pan or baconator of your choice
immersion blender
Spoons for scooping pumpkin pulp
Baking sheet (2)
foil
oven and stovetop


Halve pumpkin and remove seeds. Preheat oven to 350. Scoop out pulp and seeds from pumpkin. Place halves on a foil-lined baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and place in oven for 1 1/2 hours or until fork tender. Remove seeds from pulp and roast with some salt and cinnamon on a baking sheet for about 30 minutes while the pumpkin cooks.

Allow pumpkin to cool, then scoop out flesh. Process flesh with a little water and your handy-dandy immersion blender. Add to pot with enough water to form a thick soup (e.g. thinner than mashed potatoes, thicker than broth). Add 1 1/2 tsp chicken base and stir generously.

Cook bacon while pumpkin reheats. (I think you can figure this out.) Crumble when cooked.

A few minutes before serving, add 1/3 cup half and half and allow to heat gently. Spoon into bowls and top with bacon.

Mmm! Sweet and savory. Serve with buttery rolls.

Hello? Anyone still out there?

I'm sorry I haven't been posting much, folks. Now that I'm back from holiday, my apartment homeowner's association got chided by the city for breaking code on many fronts. What does this mean for you? My balcony currently has no railing on which to post pictures. That makes it difficult to photograph, and as you well know photographing after dark or inside never produces pictures that are as good out of camera. This means a lot of pooh-poohing images that are pretty but have terrible lighting.

My lovely family got me a brand spanking new camera for Christmas, and I am very excited about using it in the new year. Thank you! Now to sit down and figure out how to work my first DSLR.

In the meantime...

I've signed up for a local produce box and am very excited about the possibilities. I should get a new box this upcoming Wednesday, so we'll see what comes along!

Last produce box, I got some collard greens but it was too late at night to photograph once they were done Look at the color!



If I can sneak outside once in a while past the contractors to photograph, I'll do my best. In the meantime, please keep watching!