Here’s a simple pumpkin soup recipe to use up the flesh after carving your Halloween pumpkins:
  
Ingredients:

• 500g pumpkin flesh (from your carved pumpkin)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 potato, chopped
• 700ml vegetable stock
• 1 tsp ground cumin (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Kefir, cream or coconut milk for serving (optional)

 
Instructions:

1. Prepare the Vegetables: In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and garlic, and sauté until softened.
2. Add the Veggies: Toss in the pumpkin flesh, carrots, and potato. Stir for a few minutes, allowing the vegetables to mix with the onions and garlic.
3. Season and Simmer: Pour in the vegetable stock and season with salt, pepper, and cumin if using. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 20-25 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
4. Blend: Once everything is cooked through, use a hand blender or transfer the mixture to a blender in batches. Blend until smooth.
5. Serve: Adjust the seasoning to taste. For a creamy finish, drizzle with a bit of kefir, cream or coconut milk when serving.

 
This is a great way to make sure no part of your pumpkin goes to waste after carving! PS don't forget to roast the seeds in the oven, they can be sprinkled on the soup when serving, or nibbled as a tasty snack.

Geraldine

Pickling cucumbers adds a tangy, zesty flavor that enhances a variety of dishes. It’s a great way to reduce waste and enjoy fresh cucumbers long after their harvest season.

Makes 1 quart (0.946Litres or 1.66 pints)

• 1-2 large cucumbers or 4-5 pickling cucumbers or 15-20 gherkins
• 1 tablespoon mustard seeds
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill, snipped
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 4 tablespoons whey (if not available, use an additional 1 tablespoon salt)
• I cup filtered water

 
Wash cucumbers well and place them in a quart-sized, wide-mouth mason jar. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over cucumbers, adding more water if necessary to cover the cucumbers. The top of the liquid should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jar. Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for about 3 days before transferring to cold storage.
 
Variation: Pickled Cucumber Slices
Wash cucumbers well and slice at 1/4 inch intervals. Proceed with the recipe. Pickles will be ready for cold storage after about 2 days at room temperature.
 
Lacto-fermented cucumbers and cornichons [small cucumbers] are very refreshing and far less acid than pickles conserved in vinegar-one never grows tired of them. In classic cooking, these cornichons always go with meat courses and with sausages and preserved meats; a wise habit since this vegetable is able to dissolve precipitates of uric acid and thus prevents the formation of stones, often caused by meats and sausages, foods rich in uric acid. Claude AubertLes Aliments
Fermentés Traditionnels
 
Recipe thanks to the Nourishing Traditions 2nd Edition Cookbook by Sally Fallon p97
 

Not really a recipe today but one that needs to be shared for those who haven’t experienced this gem of a food.

Tallow
Tallow is a rich source of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), an essential nutrient with anti-inflammatory properties. Grass-fed tallow is also rich in fat-soluble vitamins like vitamins A, D, E, and K, as well as omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. 

Used in cooking and skincare this nourishing food deserves a comeback not least because it contains essential fats for our health ( including our hormonal balance!!) but it has many uses around the house. It’s a local food that we need to embrace again! Please do check it out!
 
Beef suet does not look appetising in its original state. But its really good value to make into tallow and use for cooking.

Chop it into small pieces and melt in an oven proof dish. Strain through a metal sieve and cool.
Oven chips cooked with tallow and served with sea salt… you will thank me..! 

Anne Maher

A simple recipe for those hot days…

Raspberries are overflowing in my garden at the moment, and there's no better way to enjoy them than in a quick and easy summer dessert. When the heat is on and you want something refreshing yet satisfying, this recipe comes to the rescue. With just a few ingredients and minimal effort, you can whip up a treat that’s simple to make and sooooo delicious!

• Skyr yoghurt from Tory Hill Farm
• Raspberries
• Spoonful Botanical
• Nibbed cocoa nibbles

Anne Maher

I made these ice pops recently. They are packed with goodness and the real bonus is my kids love them and they are easy to make!

Recipe

• 4 decent-sized bones (to make marrow)
• 1 cup of chopped fruit 
• 1/2 cup of tallow
• 1/2 cup of natural yogurt or kefir yogurt
• Optional a sachet of pure collagen if you prefer a firmer lollipop
• Honey is up to you - some people like sweeter and some don’t. I added 2 spoons and was good for my taste.
• Lollipop or ice pop molds
• Sticks to hold lollipop 

 
 
Method

1. Roast bones for 25 min at 180c, until fat has melted, scoop all fat out and reserve
2. To make the fruit paste, blend the fruit of choice with a spoon of water
3. Melt the tallow and reserve
4. Mix all of the ingredients (including honey and the yogurt) while still warm with a hand blender and place the mixture on the mold and sticks and place it in the freezer until the next day. Enjoy when firm and cold!

Danilly Carvalho

I am sticking with the simple recipes to tackle the glut of flat leaf parsley I have at the moment.

Flat leaf parsley is prolific and nourishing. Enough said. Time to move over as a garnish and take centre stage.

Some ways to use it!

1. Make a pesto. Blend with olive oil, garlic, pinenuts and lemon zest with some parmesan cheese and black pepper. Seriously good!
2. Just blend with leftover oils and pour into ice cube trays to freeze as an addition to stews later.

 
 Ingredients 

• 1 cup buckwheat seeds
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, chopped into quarters
•  1 cucumber, diced
• 2 large handfuls fresh flat leaf parsley finely chopped
• 1 large handful of mint finely chopped
• 1 lemon (juiced and grated)
• ¼ cup red onion or spring onion, chopped fine
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil on medium heat.
2. Add in the buckwheat and cook for 10 minutes with the lid off, until most of the water is absorbed then turn the heat down to low with the lid on for a few more minutes until all the water is gone and the buckwheat is soft.
3. Fluff the buckwheat up with a fork and set to cool while you prepare everything else.
4. Add the remaining ingredients to a large bowl, transfer the buckwheat to the bowl and toss well until all ingredients are combined

Note: The original tabbouleh uses bulghur wheat. 

Anne Maher

This is my go to dessert always for gatherings… you cannot go wrong. I like to change it up a bit with our ingredients here at The Urban Co-op. Here is my latest version. I really do not measure quantities so these are estimates. The crumble is quite sweet trust me!!
 
Ingredients & more

• Fresh rhubarb washed and chopped.
• A jar of vardebbi murabba paste ( quince is fab with rhubarb)
• Mix together and place in an oven proof dish.

 
Method

1. Melt 200g butter in a saucepan
2. Add 100g of succanet ( dehydrated sugar cane juice)
3. Add in about 200g of oat flakes and mix well.
4. (Ground nuts can be added here also)
5. Pour out on top of rhubarb mix loosely.
6. Pop into preheated oven 180°C for 20 minutes
7. Serve with cream… slurp…

Anne Maher

This recipe is a staple and one that you will often see on the menu in cafes and restaurants. From the nourishing traditions mentality, I now see soups as a vehicle for goodness so it can make the most of what you have, you can hide lots of “extras” in it for fussy kids, the possibilities are endless! Leeks are in season in March – a winter hardy veg they are underrated for their immune-supportive properties. They withstand tough weather conditions so their robustness is a clue to how important they can be in our diet. We do of course recommend organic where you can! There are many versions of this recipe. Of course, you can substitute ingredients as you wish. This is how I make it…
 

• 3-4 leeks: washed and chopped
• 2-3 potatoes, peeled and chopped into even pieces
• 1 onion – peeled and diced
• 1-2 garlic cloves peeled and chopped finely
• A large knob of butter
• Chicken stock (turkey stock works really well!)
• Fresh cream from raw milk
• Sea salt and cracked black pepper

 
Saute the veg in the butter for a few minutes in the saucepan over medium heat. Stir to prevent leek burning which it can easily. Add the stock and bring up the heat. When it comes to the boil reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 15 – 20 mins. Blend until smooth and add cream salt and pepper to taste. Sourdough croutons, bacon bits, peanut rayu, and chopped herbs can add different dimensions of deliciousness to this staple…! Enjoy!
 
Anne Maher