Yes, you read the title right- pumpkin carving through labour is just what happened on October the 15th this year. I woke up at about 4.45 am with the first official pain, though it wasn’t enough to make me start panicking. I had a plan for the morning, and that was to make a fabulous spiced pumpkin soup* with fresh chillis and creme fraiche.
I woke Paul up a few hours later after several more contractions, they were quite far apart and so I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, knowing that this could potentially start and stop throughout the day. So I carried on as normal, and fortunately the pains stayed about 20 mins apart while I got stuck in with my soup making in the kitchen!
If you are wanting to grab a pumpkin to carve and serve up for a simple Halloween snack, here is what you need:
Ingredients:
1x small pumpkin
2x shallots or 1 white onion
1x baking potato
3x garlic cloves (keep them vampires at bay)
1x pack of small red chillis
1x pack of fresh chives
1x creme fraiche pot
1x veg stock cube
Kitchen supplies
A saucepan or casserole pot
A really big Jason Voorhees style knife
A blender/nutribullet
It’s a really simple bunch of ingredients and utensils which you can put all in one pot so minimal mess and effort! The hardest part is beheading the pumpkin and scooping out the insides.
Tip: once the insides are out, wash and keep the seeds and bake them in the oven for 30 mins with some oil and sea salt for a yummy snack/ great soup topping!
So first, get your onion, garlic and chillis (de-seeded) and fry them up in a dash of oil.
Once nice and sizzling, add in diced pumpkin and potato cubes. Remember to keep the cubes about the size of your stock cube so it’ll cook quicker and blend up easier. Add in the stock cube with enough water to cover the ingredients.
Let that hubble bubble away for around 20 mins or until your cubes are nice and soft. Take off the heat and let it cool before blending up. You can leave a few pieces to the side if you prefer a chunky soup to a smooth soup.
I used my Magic Bullet about 4 times to blend up all the pieces, and I made sure to include the liquid too as you don’t want to waste that flavour.
It all goes back into the saucepan with 4 tablespoons of creme fraiche then salt and pepper to taste. Let that come to a boil slowly as the consistency will be quite thick, so you don’t want a sudden spurt and burnt fingers if it starts getting feisty!
For the final touch, chop up a few chives and add some of the baked pumpkin seeds before you dish up.
I managed to have a lovely bowl of my soup for lunch before my contractions started to get more intense- and about 12 hours later Alice was born! Definitely a recipe to remember, and I shall be making it as a reminder of my pumpkin carving through labour each Halloween!
*Recipe via The Ideas Kitchen a part of the healthy juice recipes collection
Saharasplash x
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