PUMPKIN TIME

It's pumpkin time! The harvest is in. This year I only planted two pumpkin plants but the results were very good - a whole year's supply of long-keeping pumpkins. The variety is Queensland Blue, an old Australian favourite with hard blue-green skin and rich orange flesh. It needs a long growing season, but here in Central Victoria that is not an issue. The pumpkins can range from 2 to 6kg in weight and will keep in good conditions for a long time as long as the "plug" in the top is intact. The growing technique I use is Chadwick's double-dug raised beds with compost, soil from the chicken yards and a liberal dose of blood-and-bone meal. Water well. Hopefully, we will be enjoying homegrown pumpkin for up to ten months or more, certainly all through the Australian winter.

In this climate pumpkin is probably the most high yielding vegetable we can grow. The crop is relatively low maintenance but the yield is substantial and long keeping. You really only need to grow a dozen Queensland Blues. Cut into quarters and use one quarter each week. 12 x 4 weeks = pumpkin for a year.

Here is a recipe for a good quick pumpkin soup:

INGREDIENTS

1 leek, sliced
A good amount of pumpkin, skinned and cut into 2 inch pieces.
A teaspoon of caraway seeds
1 clove of garlic
Half a teaspoon of fresh black pepper
A good pinch of mace (or nutmeg)
A sprig of fresh rosemary
A teaspoon of good quality sea salt
A 3 inch strip of kombu seaweed
1 dried shittake mushroom
A dribble of sunflower oil

METHOD

Oil the bottom of a pressure cooker.
Lightly fry off the leek, garlic and spices
Add the pumpkin, seaweed and mushroom
Just cover with water.
Add the salt.

Pressure cook on full pressure for fifteen minutes.
Blend with a blender stick or similar until a smooth consistency.
Serve with chopped parsley and sourdough bread.
Excellent as the day's grow shorter and the night's grow colder.