two skinny jenkins

I. Cannot. Sit. Still.  I have become hypersensitive to my body since ‘the accident’, though Joe would tell you that i have always been this way.  My bruised (?) ankle recovery rate thus far does not bode well for the marathon in three weeks.  AAAHHH.

This was my first venture back into the kitchen since the accident. Maybe I went a little crazy, but I had a good time.  As a note, the pumpkin photographed immediately below is not done.  It needed another 15 minutes after this shot was taken, but at that point I was ready to eat and not taking any more pictures.  It was good!  And the spiced pumpkin seeds I made after this were pretty tasty too!  I served the soup with some wheat rosemary olive focaccia.  See that recipe below.

Pumpkin Soup in a Pumpkin

• 1 5 lb. pumpkin, w/ stem
• 5 T butter
• salt
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 C fresh white breadcrumbs, toasted
• 1/2 t ground nutmeg
• 1/2 t ground sage
• ground black pepper
• 1/2 C grated swiss (all i had was cheddar) cheese
• 3 C chicken stock (I used bullion cubes)
• 2 bay leaves

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Clean pumpkin inside and out, cutting a 4″ diameter hole for the lid.  Set the seeds aside
2. Melt 4 T butter in a medium skillet and saute onions for 10 minutes over medium heat.  Add breadcrumbs, nutmeg, and sage, and cook 2 more minutes.  Remove from heat and add cheese.
3. Rub remaining 1 T butter (softened) on the inside of the pumpkin.   Scoop onion mixture into the pumpkin, then fill with chicken stock to within 1/2″ of the rim.  Add bay leaves.
   
4. Bake pumpkin for 1 1/2 hours, or until outside is browning and pumpkin flesh is soft.
   
5. Before serving, use a long handled metal spoon to scrape the insides of the pumpkin and mix the flesh in with the soup.  Serve.
   

Quick Focaccia

• 5 C flour (I used 2 C bread, 2 C all purpose, and 1 C whole wheat)
• 2 1/2 t yeast
  
• 1 2/3 C warm water
• 1/4 C olive oil
  
• dried rosemary
• 1/3 C chopped olives
• sea salt

1. Stir together 1 2/3 C lukewarm (105 to 115°F) water and yeast in bowl of mixer and let stand until creamy, about 5 minutes. Add 5 C flour, 1/4 C oil, and 2 1/2 teaspoons table salt and beat with paddle attachment at medium speed until a dough forms. Replace paddle with dough hook and knead dough at high speed (woohoo!) until soft, smooth, and sticky, 3 to 4 minutes.
2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead in 1 to 2 tablespoons more flour. Knead dough 1 minute (it will still be slightly sticky), then transfer to a lightly oiled bowl and turn dough to coat with oil. Let rise, covered with plastic wrap, at warm room temperature, until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
3. Press dough evenly onto a spray oiled and salted (optional- but good) baking sheet. Let dough rise, covered completely with a kitchen towel, until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 425°F.
5. Make shallow indentations in the dough with your fingertips.  Gently brush or spray with olive oil.  Sprinkle with rosemary, olives, and sea salt and bake in middle of oven until golden, 20 to 25 minutes.