Pumpkin and Lentil Soup

A recipe inspired by an epic pumpkin fail

I've been searching for a nice savoury recipe for the Bake With Bree blog for ages now, something to counteract all the sugar and chocolate. I thought my Pumpkin and Lentil soup would be just the ticket. Perfect for this time of year, it also fitted in nicely with the third book in the Bree trilogy, Bree McCready and the Realm of the Lost. 

An epic front cover by Lawrence Mann, complete with pumpkin Jack 'O Lanterns

However, after months of planning, nurturing and anticipation, the juicy homegrown pumpkin which I was going to use for my Autumn recipes ended in absolute failure...as you can see in the 'pimple' picture above. You can read all about it in 'Pumpkin Fail and a Nice Day Out' over on my Words With Hazel blog.

Anyhoo...

Not one for giving up easily I decided to replace the 800g of fresh pumpkin required for my recipe with two 400g of pureed pumpkin. 

Good quality

The results were just as tasty. A delicious, hearty Autumn soup which will stick to your ribs and warm your cockles.

Here's what you'll need:

Ingredients 

Coconut oil

1 onion

4 garlic cloves

2 tins of Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin (or 800g of fresh)

A few sprigs of fresh Thyme

600ml of stock

1 can of coconut milk

60g of red lentils

The juice of 1 and a half limes 

2 tablespoons of runny honey

2 Oxo Cubes

Salt & pepper

To decorate I used Creme Fraiche and pumpkin seeds. 

Chop the onion.

Peel and crush four cloves of garlic. No kissing for a couple of days after this :)

Prepare the leaves from a few sprigs of thyme.

Weigh out 60g of red lentils.

Open the tins of pumpkin and coconut milk.

In a large saucepan heat a tablespoon of coconut oil.

An ingredient I couldn't live without

Squeeze in the juice of one and a half limes and stir again.

Cook for a further 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow to cool for a little while.

 If you like a soup you can stand your spoon up in you won't need to add the milk but I prefer my soup a little thinner and adding milk also helps to stretch things out if you're on a budget. You can judge this for yourself.

Time to cut some crusty bread

 And serve.

Add a dollop of Creme Fraiche or natural yoghurt and a sprinkling of pumpkin seeds

There's something so perfect about a homemade soup. Serious comfort food for the cold, dark evenings. I really enjoyed making this, despite my pumpkin fail, and it was a nice change to make something savoury after the many sweet recipes I've brought to you here over the last while. 

So...

Just kidding! If you do decide to try out my recipe for Pumpkin and Lentil soup I hope you enjoy it as much as we did :) Until next time...

Seriously Decadent Hot Chocolate

A recipe inspired by October and the Ramthorpe Funfair

I absolutely love Autumn. It's my favourite time of year. Yes, it's colder and it's definitely getting darker but I like that. Crisp leaves, conkers, scarves and the smell of bonfires are just some of the things that make October special for me. This month always conjures up birthday excitement and cosy nights in beside the fire. October makes me feel warm inside.

I quite often get asked which of the Bree novels was my favourite to write. It's a tricky one to answer because each of the books has something special and unique about it and each one has memories attached  - how I was feeling and what I was doing at the time of writing them. But if I really had to choose I would have to say my favourite book to write was the third book, Bree McCready and the Realm of the Lost. This is partly due to the story being set during Halloween. It gave me such an opportunity to use my senses to bring the story to life.

As a writer you get pulled into the story and therefore it was a delight to experience the Ramthorpe Funfair with Bree, Sandy and Honey. It was a very visual and sensual experience which included all the things that made my own childhood so special around this time of year. Bonfires, fireworks, toffee apples, being outside with your friends after dark, making patterns in the night air with sparklers and warming chilly fingers on a cup of hot chocolate. So what would be a more fitting recipe to offer you than Hot Chocolate? And do I have the most Seriously Decadent Hot Chocolate for you! Weight watchers look away now.

It's a straightforward recipe which will give you enough for about three or four drinks. I put everything in a jar with a lid so I can use it again and again. Here's what you'll need:

6 tablespoons of Cocoa powder

6 tablespoons of milk powder (Coffee Compliment)

1 tablespoon of Caster sugar

1 sachet of Fudge flavour Cadbury's Highlights

4 tablespoons of milk chocolate chips

Marshmallows for the topping

Milk to make

Put the first five ingredients in a jar and shake well. Add three heaped teaspoons of this chocolate mix to a saucepan, add 200ml of milk and whisk over a low heat until melted, warm and frothy.

Transfer to a mug and top with marshmallows.

 

If you're feeling very sweet-toothed you might like to add some fudge pieces to this for an extra special twist. Now all you need is a dry, crisp evening, a roaring bonfire and some good friends to share the occasion. 

Enjoy!

"As Bree sipped her hot chocolate, hands curled round the cup, face buried in the steam, she sensed someone staring at her. A hooded figure stood perfectly still amidst the throng of activity. His hands were tucked into the sleeves of his cloak. A memory stirred at the back of her mind, but before she could pin it down the man lowered his hood to reveal a shiny, bald head. He stared at her with eyelids that showed up bright red against his chalk white skin. Black lips muttered something before he turned and walked away, melting into the crowd. Bree searched every face, but he had simply vanished into thin air."

Excerpt from chapter 1 of Bree McCready and the Realm of the Lost.

Lemonade Lovelies

 

A recipe inspired by Madeleine McCready's Homemade Lemonade.

I love the Scottish summer. It's the best day of the year by far. And as it's the first day of July, here is the perfect treat to accompany the big glowing ball of yellow that is out in all its glory.

These are my Lemonade Lovelies - sweet and zesty with a little crunch around the edges. I always feel inspired to create summery treats when I read from 'Flame of Irenus', the second book in the Bree McCready series. I love joining Bree, Sandy and Honey on the rooftop garden as they chill out 'under a high August sun' during the last summer break before they start High School.

Here's an excerpt from Chapter 1...

"Who's this pretty face?" asked Honey, pointing out a shy-looking girl in the photograph.

"That's my mum," said Bree.

"I didn't know your Mum and Dad went to school together!"

"Yes, they met at school. It was chemistry."

"Oh boy," grinned Honey. "When the chemicals kick in nothing can stop love!"

"No-they fell in love during chemistry. They had it first period on a Monday."

As if on cue, Bree's mother climbed up the ladder to the roof garden, bearing a jug of homemade lemonade. "Anyone for a top up?"

"Yes please, Mrs M." Sandy held his glass up in the air.

Madeleine laughed and climbed the last few rungs of the ladder. She wore a loose, raspberry-coloured tracksuit and had pulled her ponytail through the gap at the back of a baseball cap.

"Heavens, Sandy, don't get up. I'll come to you."

Once Sandy's glass was refilled he gave a thumbs-up to thank her. She ruffled his hair affectionately and made her way over to the girls.

So, gather together your ingredients, it's time to celebrate summer in style!

This recipe makes approximately 12 squares of lemony loveliness.

1. Preheat your oven to 180C (fan 160C) Gas Mark 4.

2. Grease and line a 21 x 31 baking tray - make it a deep one as the filling overflowed the first time I tried this recipe! Baking is a bit like life. We learn from our mistakes.

These are the ingredients you will need.

METHOD:

For the melt-in-the-mouth shortbread base -

1. Sieve the flour and icing sugar together into a large bowl and add the vanilla essence.

2. Cut the cold butter into cubes. This is not easy when your hands are summer warm so it's best to work quickly!

  

3. Add the butter to the bowl with the flour and icing sugar and rub together until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Don't worry if there is the odd lump of butter visible.

It should look a bit like this.

4. Knead everything together to form a soft dough then wrap the dough in clingfilm and refrigerate for a few minutes to let it firm. This will make it easier to handle.

Dough-ball!

  

5. Take the dough out of the fridge and carefully pat and pull it onto the base of the greased baking tray until the whole area is covered. This will take a little time to get right so be patient and don't worry about getting it perfect. As long as it's roughly covering the base and is about the same depth all over, that's all that matters. Prick all over with a fork.

6. Pop into the hot oven and bake for 20 minutes until slightly golden.

Now, I'm a very tidy cook. I hate chaos and prefer a clear work surface and minimum mess. So while the base is cooking and filling the kitchen with its sweet aroma I like to tidy things away, ready for the next step!

 

The Next Step - The Lemonade Filling:

1. Whisk the eggs, caster sugar, flour, lemon juice and zest until frothy. I prefer using my electric whisk for this but you can do it by hand too.

 2. Take the golden base from the oven and while it's still hot pour the lemonade mixture over the top.

3. Return to the oven for a further 25-30 minutes or until the top looks light golden brown. My advice would be to keep an eye on this as the sugary mixture can easily 'catch' and burn. 

4. Remove from the oven and leave in the tray to cool.

Don't worry about the brown bits. They add a little bit of c-r-u-n-c-h!

5. When things have cooled and the cake has firmed up it'll be easier to remove from the baking tray. Lift it out using the edges of the parchment paper and cool for another little while on a rack. 

6. Prepare your decorations! This is the fun part as you can use anything you like. I used these...

...but you could also use lemon slices, Smarties, sprinkles, lemon zest, a dusting of icing sugar...the list is endless!

7. I like to cut away the rough edges before I cut into squares. This gives a uniform appearance and gets rid of the really crispy bits. It also gives me the perfect excuse to do some taste testing!

The finished result

 

Love and sticky fingers, Hazel X