| Rather than making a canned pumpkin soup recipe | | | | This pumpkin recipe feeds four to six people and is a |
| the next time you fancy this warming dish, how | | | | real winter warmer. |
| about making a classic pumpkin soup with your own | | | | What you will need: |
| produce? You can grow pumpkins from seeds or | | | | - 2 lbs stewing beef |
| from baby plants which are available from the | | | | - 4 minced cloves garlic |
| nursery. Pumpkins are a long season crop but | | | | - 1 cup water |
| growing your own can be very rewarding. | | | | - 4 sliced carrots |
| Sow the seeds directly in the earth after the last | | | | - 1/2 teaspoon black pepper |
| frost, in manure and compost-enriched, well-draining | | | | - 1 sugar pumpkin |
| soil, somewhere that gets full sun. The seed packet | | | | - 2 tablespoons beef bouillon granules |
| will tell you how much space to leave between the | | | | - 3 tablespoons vegetable oil |
| plants because there are different pumpkin varieties. | | | | - 1 chopped green bell pepper |
| Once the plants start to grow, use organic matter as | | | | - 2 teaspoons salt |
| mulch to deter weeks and keep the soil moist. | | | | - 3 peeled, cubed potatoes |
| More Tips for Healthy Pumpkin Plants | | | | - 14 1/2 oz can chopped, peeled tomatoes |
| Give the pumpkin plants a couple of inches of water | | | | - 1 chopped onion |
| every week, especially when the fruit starts to | | | | How to make it: |
| appear. Use seaweed extract or compost tea to | | | | Add 2 tablespoons of the oil to a pan and heat it |
| feed them every couple of weeks. | | | | over a medium high heat. Cut the beef into 1 inch |
| When the fruit appears, pinch the vines back to stop | | | | cubes and add it to the oil. Brown the beef cubes all |
| them growing too much. It is a good idea to put | | | | over. Add the carrots, potatoes, water, garlic, salt, |
| boards underneath any big pumpkins to keep them | | | | pepper, onion and bell pepper to the pot. |
| off the wet ground. This stops them from rotting. | | | | Bring the stew to a boil, then turn down the heat |
| Orange pumpkins should be picked before the first | | | | and simmer it for a couple of hours. Preheat the |
| freeze and after the vines have dried up. White | | | | oven to 325 degrees F. Stir in the bouillon granules |
| pumpkins should be picked when their skins are | | | | and tomatoes. Cut the top off the sugar pumpkin |
| streaked with green lines. | | | | and take out the pulp and seeds, leaving an inch thick |
| Recipe for Pumpkin and Beef Stew | | | | wall. Chop the pulp and add it to the beef stew. |
| Once you have grown your own pumpkins, you will | | | | Fill the pumpkin shell with the beef stew and brush |
| be anxious to make some tasty recipes with them. | | | | the rest of the oil over the pumpkin exterior. Bake |
| The following recipe combines beef, garlic, | | | | for a couple of hours or until tender. Serve the stew |
| vegetables, tomatoes and more and this wonderful | | | | from the pumpkin, scraping out more of the pumpkin |
| beef stew recipe is served inside a pumpkin bowl. | | | | flesh from inside the shell. |