by Rebecca Tute | Oct 11, 2022 | Gardening Posts, Recipes
Spiced pumpkin soup with bacon
Rebecca Tute
If you're growing your own pumpkins this year and want to use them for more than just a spooky Halloween decoration, this delicious soup is perfect!Rebecca from the T&M team says: "This is a really warming soup, perfect for a chilly day. We often add a tablespoon of grated fresh ginger for an added kick. For vegetarians, simply leave out the bacon and use vegetable stock. And for something a bit special, why not use the pumpkins themselves as the bowls? Just remove the tops and scoop out the flesh."
- 1 medium onion
- 2 large garlic cloves
- 50 g butter
- 900 g pumpkin
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 small dried chillies (to taste)
- 1 L stock (either vegetable or chicken)
- 4 rashers smoked bacon (optional)
- 100 ml single cream or Quark
Start by peeling and roughly chopping the onion and slicing the garlic. Gently cook in the melted butter until soft.
Peel and chop the pumpkin, but keep the seeds to toast later as a healthy snack.
Add the pumpkin flesh to the onion and garlic. Cook until the pumpkin browns at the edges.
In a separate frying pan, toast the coriander and cumin seeds over a very low heat for about two minutes.
Grind the aromatic spices with a pestle and mortar. Keep the pan for later.
Add the spices and chopped chillies to the onion, garlic and pumpkin mix. Cook together for a minute and then add the stock.
Simmer for 20 minutes, or until the pumpkin is soft.
In the meantime, fry the bacon in the spice pan until it’s really crispy, then chop into small pieces and set aside.
Pour the soup into a food processor or use a hand blender to blitz until smooth.
Return the soup to a pan to warm through, stir through the cream, and add salt and pepper.
Ladle into large bowls (or the pre-prepared pumpkins), sprinkle over the crispy bacon, and serve with lightly toasted sourdough bread.
Rebecca works in the Marketing department as part of the busy web team, focusing on updating the UK news and blog pages and Thompson & Morgan’s international website. Rebecca enjoys gardening and learning about flowers and growing vegetables with her young daughter.
by Rebecca Tute | Aug 16, 2021 | Gardening Posts
These daffodils look good in containers or as cut flowers
Image: Narcissus ‘Peach Cobbler’ from Thompson & Morgan
For the best spring blooms, plant your daffodil bulbs in autumn. That way they have plenty of time to settle in and grow strong root systems to support healthy foliage and brilliant, vibrant displays. Here we take a look at how to plant daffodils for maximum wow factor, and present some of our favourite varieties to try.
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Rebecca works in the Marketing department as part of the busy web team, focusing on updating the UK news and blog pages and Thompson & Morgan’s international website. Rebecca enjoys gardening and learning about flowers and growing vegetables with her young daughter.
by Rebecca Tute | Jul 5, 2021 | Gardening Posts
Plant foxgloves in the summer border
Image: Foxglove ‘Mixed’ from Thompson & Morgan
For a fresh take on traditional bedding plant displays, try adding tall perennials to the back of your beds and borders. Pollinator-friendly, long-lasting and easy to care for once established, these value-for-money plants will provide effortless colour, structure and interest all summer long.
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Rebecca works in the Marketing department as part of the busy web team, focusing on updating the UK news and blog pages and Thompson & Morgan’s international website. Rebecca enjoys gardening and learning about flowers and growing vegetables with her young daughter.
by Rebecca Tute | May 14, 2021 | Gardening News
If you enjoyed watching ‘The Great British Garden Revival’ then you’ll be aware of Christine Walkden’s passionate campaign to bring back ornamental bedding plants. The magnificent displays often seen at grand country houses like Waddesdon Manor and seaside towns like Eastbourne are still incredibly popular.
Descended from the Victorians’ love of the art of ornamental bedding, these “eye-catching displays were the gardening ‘bling’ of yesteryear,” explained Christine. Here’s how to stage your own mini-revival, using the latest cutting-edge bedding plants bred for size, colour, disease-resistance and longevity.
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Rebecca works in the Marketing department as part of the busy web team, focusing on updating the UK news and blog pages and Thompson & Morgan’s international website. Rebecca enjoys gardening and learning about flowers and growing vegetables with her young daughter.
by Rebecca Tute | Mar 31, 2014 | Gardening News
Thompson & Morgan’s horticultural innovators who won the Plant of the Year at the Chelsea Flower Show 2012 and introduced the amazing TomTato® have done it again!
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Rebecca works in the Marketing department as part of the busy web team, focusing on updating the UK news and blog pages and Thompson & Morgan’s international website. Rebecca enjoys gardening and learning about flowers and growing vegetables with her young daughter.
