When the lovely Katie from Whole Nourishment contacted me a little while ago asking if I wanted to be part of a series of recipes and tips around Cooking For One, I jumped at the chance. I’ve had a lot of experience cooking for one – 10 years spent living in share houses I would usually cook for myself. That said – it was rare that I would ever cook food to serve myself for just one meal. I would usually (and still do) cook a big batch of soup, stew or curry to have for meals throughout the week, or freeze to save for another day. I find that this is a great way to cook whether cooking for one or for a whole family, as it gives you a bunch of healthy meals ready to go for another day when you don’t have as much time to cook.
Another little trick I would use would be to focus on one ingredient for the week, and then use it in a variety of different dishes to keep things interesting. For example, a big batch a quinoa cooked on the weekend would then be made into a quinoa fried “rice” or form part of a Superfood salad. Pita bread would be used for falafel sandwhiches, pita bread pizzas, or toasted and shredded to use in salads. Or a delicious creamy peanut sauce would be used in a Vegan soba noodle bowl one night, and served over grilled tofu and veggies the next.
When thinking about which dish to share for the Cooking For One series, I originally wasn’t going to post a soup recipe – after all, soups are a bit boring right?
Not this soup. This soup is the soup to convert all soup-haters.
It’s rich and creamy and layered with flavour. One of the great things about soup is that you can easily double it if you want to make a big pot and freeze it for quick, nutritious meals when you’re busy and need to grab something quick to eat – much tastier and healthier than your average packaged frozen meal! Otherwise, the recipe below makes three generous serves – dinner, lunch the next day and one serve to pop in the freezer for that day when its cold and wet outside and you just want to snuggle on the couch with a nutritious warming meal for one.
- 1kg pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and roughly chopped
- 2 med carrots, chopped
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil
- 3 large garlic cloves
- 2 cups veg stock
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup natural peanut butter
- ½ cup coconut milk
- Coconut cream and chopped peanuts, to serve
- Preheat oven to 200 C || 390 F
- Toss the pumpkin and carrots through the coconut oil and add to a large roasting pan with the whole garlic cloves.
- Cook 50 minutes or until golden, turning once.
- Squeeze the cooked garlic from its skin into a large pot with the roasted vegetables, stock, water and peanut butter. Simmer 10 minutes.
- Add the coconut milk and blend until smooth.
- Serve topped with coconut cream and chopped peanuts
[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:13]
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Make sure you check out all of the other great recipes and tips in the Cooking For One series –
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Day
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Friends
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Sunday, October 5th
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Katie @ Whole Nourishment ~ Green Quinoa Bowl
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Monday, October 6th
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Kellie @ Food to Glow ~ Grilled Shiitake Kimcheese
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Tuesday, October 7th
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Isadora @ She Likes Food ~ Vegetable Lasagna Roll-ups
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Wednesday, October 8th
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Dearna @ to her core ~ Roasted Pumpkin and Peanut Soup
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Thursday, October 9th
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Lynsey @ lynseylovesfood ~ Roasted Root Vegetable Calzones
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Sarah @ Highgate Hill Kitchen ~ Spicy-Roasted Chickpeas, Herbed Freekeh & Moroccan Carrot Salad
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Friday, October 10th
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Grace @ Earthy Feast ~ Marinated Mushroom Sandwich with Sautéed Greens + Avocado + Egg
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Saturday, October 11th
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Teri @ Nourished Roots ~ Curried Red Lentil and Roasted Delicata Squash Soup
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Wow, this looks heavenly. It looks super thick and creamy and the flavours sound awesome!
Thank you Lauren x
Oh, you don’t have to convince me to embrace the wonders of soup, especially not this one. I am fully on board and think this is the perfect soup to convert others and to have for several meals and not get bored with it. And you’re so right, we think of making big pot meals like soups and curries for a group but they are probably my number 1 go-to item to make for myself too. Gorgeous soup, and thanks so much for being part of the series Dearna!
Thanks Katie – and glad to here I have another soup fan over there ;) So delicious and versatile!
That sounds like such a fun and interesting series. I cook for myself very often despite still living at home, since I’m always on the run to dance, school projects or musical. So I’ll definitely check out there blog right away.
This soup… Sounds soooo good. I absolutely love pumpkin soups and the addition of peanuts sounds wonderful. Pinned!
Thanks Josefine! Hope you find some other great recipes and ideas that you like in the series :)
Yum! Pumpkin soup! This sounds so good and nourishing on those cold winter evenings we are facing VERY soon here in the Northwest. This will be a great addition to my family’s meal rotation.
Pumpkin soup is such a great staple, and a great choice to mix up to create a new spin on an old classic :) Hope you like it! :)
I love the idea of focusing on one ingredient for the week and using it in all different kinds of recipes, that is so great! It rained all day today and I’ve been craving soup, so this is perfect! I’ve never actually cooked with a whole pumpkin before, but I think it is about time! This soup sounds great :)
Thanks Isadora! Soup is the perfect rainy day food – enjoy :)
what a hearty and delicious way to treat oneself! Such a vibrant colour, just inviting a big spoon and digging right in.
Thanks Katie! :)
Hi, I don’t seem to be able to access the actual recipe. The photo is there & it looks amazing but no recipe as far as I can see.
Hi Amanda – fixed now x