Autumn Roast Squash Soup

by Lou Robbie

Autumn squash soup with lots of roast garlic and warming spices. This is a hug in a bowl and we’ve even added a cheese toastie for extra comfort. You can easily swap the butternut squash for Kuri (pumpkin) squash to make an equally delicious bowl of soup.

Roasting the veg first is key to getting in those extra sweet and caramelised notes and we’ve made the prep part easy by just chopping everything in half and loading it on to the roasting tin. We’ve added some lovely sweet Irish carrots, cherry tomatoes from our tunnels and the best of Irish organic onions.

Nutrient dense and perfect for cosy autumn days.

Lou 🙂

Ingredients: makes 4 generous portions

Method:

  • Preheat the oven: 180ºC.
  • Step 1: Prepare the veg: Chop the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Wash and chop the carrots in half, slice the top off the bulb of garlic, peel and half the onions. Wash the tomatoes. Put all the veg on a baking tray.
  • Step 2: Sprinkle with paprika, cumin, salt and drizzle in oil. Roast in the oven for 40 -50 minutes, test everything is cooked by piercing with a sharp knife.
  • Step 3: Put all the cooked veg into a powerful blender along with hot stock. Blend and then add to a pot with the coconut milk, gently heat through on the hob and serve.

Pumpkin Brownie

by Lou Robbie

These pumpkin brownies are incredible….I even surprised myself with this one! The bitterness from the chocolate works so well with the earthy sweetness of the pumpkin and the warming spices too. Make sure to have a nice warm drink, tea or coffee or a spiced latte, if thats your preference, and get cosy with this sweet autumn treat!

Liz on a previous post laid the foundations for this recipe and gave instructions on how to make your Autumn Flavour Kit with pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice mix, check it out and come back here to make these brownies. I’m a little bit obsessed with the pumpkin (aka Kuri squash) at the moment, I’ll be cooking them for all things sweet and savoury over the next few months.

Once you have your pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice at hand, there is an endless amount of autumn baking recipes to sift through and experiment with. My first thoughts were cake, cookies, bread and then this brownie. I did extend my research to the US where many bakers have a whole catalogue of spiced pumpkin recipes. I did a bit of tweaking with this recipe and the result was much better that I could have hoped for!

I really hope you make them and enjoy them,

Lou

Ingredients – makes 16 squares

For the brownie batter

For the pumpkin batter

  • 225g granulated sugar
  • 180g pumpkin puree 
  • 170g butter, melted
  • 2 large eggs , at room temperature
  • 200g plain flour
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice** (follow the link Autumn Flavour Kit to make your own or add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1 teaspoon mixed spice)
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and butter and line with parchment a 9×13-inch (23×33- cm) baking tray.

For the brownie batter

  1. In a mixing bowl beat (with an electric mixer) or whisk together the melted butter and sugar. 
  2. Then crack in the eggs and beat for a few minutes until pale in colour.
  3. Using a sieve, sift in the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. Gently mix with a spatula to combine. 
  4. Finally, fold in the chopped chocolate and spread evenly in the prepared pan.

For the pumpkin batter

  1. In a mixing bowl beat or whisk together the melted butter and sugar. 
  2. Then crack in the eggs and beat for a few minutes until pale in colour. 
  3. Gently stir in the pumpkin puree. 
  4. Using a sieve, sift in the flour, baking powder and pumpkin spice. Gently mix with a spatula to combine. 
  5. Pour the pumpkin batter on top of the brownie batter.
  6. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes. You want the brownie to be a bit gooey so don’t over bake.

Slow Cooker – 3 Bean Chilli

by Lou Robbie

This chilli is like a big hug…it’s warm and spicy and tingly, filling and comforting. Most of the ingredients came off the shelf of the Green Earth Organic store room. Tins of beans and tomatoes, spices and brown rice that comes in compostable packaging and some Galway grown squash and onions, to make it an organic bowl of tastiness! 

Using a slow cooker is very convenient for time-poor/busy people. Stick it on in the morning and head out the door and when you get home in the evening dinner is ready! 

Slow cooking brings out the best in some foods. It allows the flavours to mingle for hours and to permeate the ingredients, like the beans in this recipe. Any extra chilli can be used in a burrito the next day or frozen for dinner next week. 

Lovely for the cooler weather.

Lou 🙂

**If you don’t have a slow cooker you can of course make this in a casserole pot on the hob or on the oven, cooking time approximately an hour on a medium heat on the hob or 180C in the oven.

Ingredients: Serves 6

Method:

This recipe is suitable for a 3.5 litre slow cooker.

To get more flavour from the base flavours, I recommend cooking the onions, garlic and spices on the hob first. 

  1. Finely dice the onions and chop the garlic. 
  2. Put a frying pan on medium heat. Add a tablespoon of oil and add the onions. 
  3. Cook gently to soften for 5-10 minutes. Add the chopped garlic, paprika, coriander, cumin, chilli, brown sugar, salt and pepper and cook out on low for another 5 minutes. Take them off the heat when they are soft and cooked.
  4. While the onions are cooking prepare the butternut squash. You can peel it if you wish, but you can also cook the diced squash skin and all, it makes it quicker to prepare and more nutritious, especially because it’s organic.  It’s also less wasteful.
  5. Wash it and chop it into two. Scoop out the seeds. (You can roast the seeds in the oven with salt and pepper later)
  6. Take one half of the squash and slice and dice it small. 
  7. Open all the tins, the black, kidney, cannellini beans add them all together to a colander to drain and rinse under cold water. 
  8. Set up your slow cooker, add the cooked onions, the squash, all the beans, then add the chopped tomatoes, fill the tomato tins with water and add both to the pot. 
  9. Toss in the bay leaves, add another pinch of salt and pepper and pop the lid on. 
  10. Cook it on low for 8 hours. 
  11. Serving suggestion: Cook up some brown rice and serve with sour cream and fresh coriander.