FoodFixe

Curried Pumpkin: Soup to Nuts

  It’s fall. It’s Halloween. It’s pumpkin season! My favorite time of year. And I’ve been on quite a pumpkin bender of late. A couple weeks ago I was determined to find a really good pumpkin soup recipe. I used to make one years ago that, although I loved the idea of pumpkin soup, I finally had to admit really wasn’t all that great.

I asked for recommendations from the foodie folks on Twitter and scoured the intertubes, and found what sounded like a winner—Curried Pumpkin Soup. I love the pumpkin curry at the Thai joint near work, so soup sounded like the next best thing.

Mexican Casserole

For years, I never cooked much red meat. However, when we added raising Red Angus cattle to our Sugar Magnolia Ranches farming business, I suddenly found myself with a freezer full of beef – 70 to 80 pounds of which was ground. Needless to say, I’m always looking for recipes that use ground beef.

This recipe for Mexican Casserole came from one of my favorite food blogs – Tuesday Recipe, by local famous foodie Tori Ritchie. You may remember her Ultimate Kitchens show on Food Network. She also did a show with Bay Area chef Joey Altman. (His restaurant Wild Hare in Menlo Park will always remain one of my favorites. I was so sad when it closed, a victim of the dot-com boom going bust.)

Mom's Mock Lasagna

My love for cooking started at an early age; which, honestly, is a little odd considering that I was a VERY picky eater as a child. My mom always had a hamburger steak at the ready in the freezer for those nights when she was cooking something she knew I wouldn’t eat, which was often. I loved to sit at the kitchen counter, though, and watch my mom cook. It wasn’t just about the food; it was about the conversation and just spending time together.

I think that’s what I really love about food – the sharing. The food doesn’t have to be fancy. Even a simple meal can become a great event when served with good company and good conversation.

In honor of my mom who inspired my interest in cooking and encouraged me in the kitchen, I offer up one of my favorite dishes from childhood that was a regular in my mom’s recipe repertoire – Mock Lasagna. It is, I am not ashamed to say, a casserole. However, this dish has found a new generation of fans among my friends who, upon becoming new parents, received a Mock Lasagna casserole to keep in their freezers for those nights when dinner just wasn’t going to happen any other way.