It’s that time of the week again, Monday! I’ve got two lovely dishes for you to try out for your veggie meal this week. I found these recipe on a great recipe website, Ezra Pound Cake. For every Monday there is a meat-free dish, making it easy for viewers to eat less meat during the week.
Curried Pumpkin Soup: (Serves 7)
Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons Butter
230grams Fresh Mushrooms, Sliced
1/2 Cup Chopped Onions
2 Tablespoons Flour
1 Teaspoon Curry Powder
3 Cups Vegetable Broth
1 Can Solid-Pack Pumpkin
1 Can Evaporated Milk
1 Tablespoon Honey
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Pepper
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
Garnish: Fresh Chives (Optional)
Method:
Take a large saucepan and melt the butter over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and the onions and saute them until tender (about 5 minutes).
Stir in the curry powder and the flour until blended. Gradually add the broth, stirring it to combine.
Bring the mixture to just a boil and stir for 2 minutes. Stir in the pumpkin, honey, salt, pepper, milk and nutmeg and heat through. Serve immediately, garnish with chives if desired.
Filling Ingredients:
240ml Cream Cheese
1 Cup Confectioners’ Sugar
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
Streusel Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Flour
1/3 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup Finely Chopped Pecans
3 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Melted
1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon
Pumpkin Batter Ingredients:
2 Cups Flour
2 Cups Sugar
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
2 Teaspoons Cinnamon
1 Teaspoon Ground Cloves
1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 & 1/4 Cups Solid Pack Pumpkin
3 Eggs, Lightly Beaten
1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Method:
Heat your oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease 2 12-cup muffin trays and set aside.
Cream Cheese Filling: In a bowl beat the cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar until the mixture is smooth. Add the vanilla and mix in. Shape the mixture into a log-shape, wrap in a piece of plastic wrap and freeze for about an hour.
Pecan Streusel: In a bowl combine the flour, sugar, pecans, cinnamon and butter. Mix it all in and then set aside.
Pumpkin Batter: Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and spices in a bowl.
In another bowl lightly beat the pumpkin, eggs, vanilla and oil.
Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and pour in the pumpkin mixture. Mix with a fork until just moistened.
Remove the cream cheese from the freezer and cut in into 24 slices. Then evenly divide half of the batter among the muffin trays. Place one slice of the cream cheese log in the centre of each cup, pressing the cream cheese gently into the batter without submerging it. Fill the cups with the remaining batter.
Sprinkle a bit of the pecan streusel on top of each muffin and bake until golden (about 20-25 minutes). Cool them on wires racks.
Jade Scully is a copywriter excited about writing copy and stories, blogging about the world and editing. She currently and regularly publishes her stories on a number of blogs. Jade loves animals and hopes to begin writing copy for the animal rescue charity TEARS as her contribution to the cause.
