Two soups - hearty homage to the genius of Victoria Wood and Julie Walters

2 soups - with acknowledgements to Victoria Wood and Julie Walters - the 2 soups sketch is one of the funniest things, I have ever seen.  If you have seen it, you will know what I'm talking about - if you haven't, click on the 2 soups link and give yourself a giggle.

When my teenage kids were small, there were 2 authors they preferred above all others;  Dr Seuss and Helen Cooper - and one of their all time favourite stories was Pumpkin soup by Helen Cooper - I got to know it off by heart.  I am sure many of you know the feeling.

There's a good smell of soup, and at night, with luck, you might see a bagpiping Cat in the window, and a Squirrel with a banjo, and a small singing Duck. Everyone has their own jobs to do. Everyone is happy... or so it seems.... until one day Duck, the littlest one, decides it's his turn to stir the soup.

And that inspired this first recipe, a grown up soup for my growing up (all too quickly) kids

Spiced pumpkin and corn soup
A spicy blend of autumn ingredients to warm the body and soul

2 tblsp oil
2 onions, sliced
500g pumpkin flesh, chopped
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp paprika
Chilli to taste - fresh or dried
25g creamed coconut
1 litre vegetable or chicken stock
Salt and pepper to taste
2 corn on the cob

I cooked mine on the versatile and incredibly useful Kitchen Companion

Put the bowl on the diffuser ring on top of the heater base  and pour in the oil.  You can choose what ever oil you fancy, I used some local rapeseed oil, but anything from olive to vegetable will do.
Heat over a medium heat and add the onions.  Sweat them until soft, but not coloured.
Add the spices, stir well and cook for a minute.
Add the pumpkin, stir well and cook for around 5 minutes.
Add the coconut, stock and seasoning and bring to the boil.

Simmer for 15 minutes, until the pumpkin is soft.
Blend until smooth and then add the kernels from 2 corn on the cob.
Cook for a further 10 minutes and serve.

We had ours with some crusty bread, flecked with fresh sage and topped with sea salt.

Soup 2 is made from more autumn bounty, including apples and sage from my garden.

Parsnip and apple soup

2 tblsp oil
2 onions, chopped
2 large parsnips, peeled and chopped
2 apples, cored and chopped - there is no need to peel them
1 litre chicken or vegetable stock
1 tsp chopped fresh sage - be careful with this, sage is a very pungent herb and too much will ruin the soup
Salt and pepper to taste

Again I used the Kitchen Companion for this.

Warm the oil over a medium heat and add the onions.
Cook until soft but not coloured
Put the parsnips, apples, sage and stock into the bowl .
Cover with the lid and bring to the boil over a high heat
Reduce to a simmer and cook for around 15-20 minutes until the parsnips are soft.

Blend and season with salt and pepper - it's likely you'll want to use a little more seasoning than usual,as this is quite a sweet soup.
I drizzled mine with hazelnut oil, for a luxurious and show off presentation and accompanied it with cheese bread.

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2013 ©
www.netherton-foundry.co.uk