Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Pumpkin Soup


I have a fairy tale vision of Shauna James Ahern's life. Gluten Free Girl's writing and photography are filled with such poetry and grace, that I am certain rainbows and gentle breezes follow her everywhere. So when I heard about pumpkin soup Wednesday, I was in. Surely if I joined the others cooking out of her and her husband's latest book (Gluten Free Girl and the Chef), my life would be equally idyllic. I envisioned myself standing serenely at the stove listening to children laugh while sunlight danced on the kitchen floor. This was going to be good!

I gathered my ingredients and placed them on the counter (in an aesthetically pleasing arrangement of course). I inhaled deeply of the pumpkin’s earthy scent as I smiled across at my children playing in the next room. OK, I'm exaggerating. My kitchen is a little different than Shauna's and the Chef's. I actually yelled at the kids and burned the pumpkin seeds. I got frustrated with my knife skills and cheated with the food processor. I added the cream too early. I watched my hungry family scrounge for food as the dinner hour came and went. And, to top it all off, I splattered the kitchen wall (and myself) with hot soup.

But I'm not giving up on my fairy tale kitchen dream. I just have a few kinks to work out. I have since noticed that there is an entire section of soup advice on the preceding pages of the book. I guess I should have read that first. Next time I'll start early and slow down enough to enjoy the process. Still, it was damned good soup!