As I write this, the US Open Tennis tournament is on in New York, and Aussie tennis players Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis are playing doubles. They won the Australian Open Doubles title earlier this year in Melbourne, so here's hoping they do well in the US. We love our tennis, so during this wet weather we are having here in Cairns whilst on holiday, it's great to have the tennis as a backup entertainment plan, when I'm not cooking or reading or knitting (ha, ha), I'm not a great knitter. In an ideal world, we would travel to New York to watch the US Open live one day, never say never. It's on the bucket list anyway.
I haven't been doing much shopping for interesting items to showcase here in Cairns in the city centre, as every couple of days a new Cruise ship is arriving carrying over 2,000 passengers, so the city is alive with tourists, which I suppose in a sense is what I am. Exciting times for Cairn's businesses as they really suffered during the Covid pandemic, being a tourist city. Now all the restaurants and coffee shops in the city heart are bursting at the seams so that's great for the economy. So far I think they have all been P&O ships arriving in Cairns. These ships are massive cruise liners. We haven't been tempted yet to take a cruise, have you?
Pumpkins have been so delicious this Autumn, so I've bought two and made very good use of them. I've roasted pumpkin, steamed pumpkin, mashed pumpkin, and here's a couple of the recipes with pumpkin I've made recently. I find it so hard to resist buying a whole pumpkin from the farmer, how about you. I'll be making my Pumpkin and Apricot fruit cake soon as well as unsurprisingly I still have some pumpkin in the frig crisper.
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| Lots of Pumpkin peeling |
A Kent (Jap) pumpkin purchased at the iconic Rusty's markets in Cairns was put to good use. I made a batch of our favourite Curried Pumpkin and Coconut soup, as the wet inclement weather continued.
Ingredients:
1 kg Jap pumpkin (peeled and chopped into 3 cm pieces), also known as Kent pumpkin2 cups of chicken stock, or 2 chicken stock cubes and 2 cups of water
2 large garlic cloves crushed
2 teaspoons curry powder
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 can of organic coconut milk (400 ml) or use Coconut Cream or ordinary cream, but only 200 ml, and top up with water if needed.
Method:
Place first five ingredients into a 2 litre casserole dish. Cook on High for 15-20 minutes in your microwave oven until all pieces of pumpkin are well cooked. You might need to take out the dish carefully, give the pumpkin a stir to move the middle pieces to the outside, and pop it back in the oven for 5 another minutes. This depends on your pumpkin.
Remove dish when the pumpkin is cooked, allowing the pumpkin to cool slightly.
Puree pumpkin with a stick blender. Stir in coconut milk and add seasoning to your taste. I used a lot of pepper. (Cream can be substituted.)
Cook on high for another 4 minutes in the microwave.
Garnish with fresh garlic chives or coriander, finely chopped.
I'm taking this opportunity to put up my two Lemon Curd recipes, as a reader noticed that the link to my stovetop Lemon Curd recipe wasn't live. So here it is, and also the link to my Microwave Lemon Curd recipe which has been one of the most popular recipes on my blog. I've made a couple of batches of the microwave style Lemon Curd during this month's lemon season and it's always delicious.
I am reading this while having my first cup of coffee for the day. I wish I had one of those scones!
ReplyDeleteAnne I'm having coffee right now too and wish I had one left:) Need to make some more. Thanks so much for your lovely comment.
DeleteGosh all those recipes look so delicious Pauline. I was going to make pumpkin muffins today but I just might give your pumpkin scones a try instead. Enjoy the weekend. xx
ReplyDeleteJulie I really hope you tried the pumpkin scone recipe and enjoyed them. So nice to hear from you.
DeleteWe are just entering fall here and I look forward to the first Shepherds Pie once the weather cools a bit. Lovely produce and those cakes sound delicious.
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Deletethanks so much Liz. We are very fortunate to have access to such healthy and locally grown produce.
I have plans to make a fruit cake at some point. I acquired my grandmother's recipe recently so want to give that a go.
ReplyDeleteMarg, I think it is so special to be baking our family recipes. I'm sure it will be a beauty. Thanks so much.
Deleteyour cakes look great as do the scones. amazing about the cruise ships and good for the economy. we did a tour of the new international cruise ship terminal here at pinkenba. it will take huge ships with 5000 passengers. apparently they are booked from this sept to october next year. 23 in september alone! thanks for joining in again. great to have you :) have a great month.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine being on a cruise ship with 5000 passengers, just like a small city on the water. Thanks Sherry, it's always a pleasure being part of IMK. Hope your month goes very well too.
DeleteAs always, it's always fun reading your IMK.
ReplyDeleteNo cruises planned for us. With the price of electricity ever increasing here in Europe, we'll be doing good to afford a weekend trip next year.
ReplyDeleteHi Ron, great to hear from you, yes the electricity prices are crippling. And you would need good heating, A lot of folk here are investing in solar power and solar heating. Is it viable during summer where you are? No cruises for us either. Take care.
Fall is a beautiful time of year. The available cooler fall produce is delightful. Your pumpkin soup and those scones are swoon worthy. Thanks for sharing with us.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your lovely comment Velva, I really appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun idea to use a microwave to make Lemon Curd! I'll have to try that out since lemon curd is always a nice addition. Enjoy the end of the US Open - and if you want to watch it live, then just make it happen! :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks David, yes I always have some lemon curd on hand, also just great to eat from a spoon when feeling needy.
DeleteYour produce looks so good. Loving those scones and your curried soup. thanks for the recipe.
ReplyDeleteTina it's so nice to hear from you, pumpkin is such a great vegetable, the scones and soup are delicious.
DeleteI visited Cairns on a cruise ship! Although the one I was on had more like 700 passengers -- for us, a more pleasant experience than those big ships. Anyway, some good looking recipes here -- thanks.
ReplyDeleteHi KR, I can't imagine being on a huge cruise ship either, lovely that you have visited Cairns though. Thanks for your comment.
ReplyDeleteHello KR, I can't imagine being on a huge cruise ship either, nice to know you have visited Cairns though. Thanks for your comment.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a lot of comfort food in your kitchen! My cousins are doing a cruise from Perth to Sydney but it does not stop in Cairns. Such a pity for them as it is a lovely place to visit :)
ReplyDeleteCairns is beautiful at this time of year. Thanks Tandy.
DeleteThat soup looks wonderful -- and will be perfect when it finally cools down around here (not for a while). I love the photo of the scones - it is so enticing!
ReplyDeleteThanks David, yes the soup is so good when it is cooler, or if in air-conditioning. Such an easy way to make it too. I keep a batch of these scones in the freezer, they are so delicious.
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