Cooking Club!

If I'm not careful, this blog will be about nothing but food. I suppose since it's such a large part of my life, it's only natural. Food is such an integral part of my life. It's how I comfort, nurture and show love to the people I love. It evokes memories and satisfies my soul.

Today I wanted to introduce you to my Cooking Club. If you've been reading since I started this blog a few months ago, you'll notice that I'm in two cooking clubs. Well, I was in two. I had to let one go, it was just a bit too much. I already regret it somewhat.

It's a nerve wracking time. You fret. You worry. You wonder if the recipes seem cohesive as a meal. Is the house clean enough? Oh why do I have to live in such a small mess of a house? I should go out and buy a new set of dishes. I need new carpeting! These are the things that go through your head. Then, the girls come in, one by one, and we start eating, and then you don't care. You're having such a great time.

Terry was the host of this month's group. She has a LOVELY home in Lowell. Her garden, well...it's paradise. I have no idea how she does as much as she does. She used to be the President of the Lowell Garden Club. She's stepped down for a bit. She loves to junk as much as I do. Going into her house made me miss all my 'stuff'. I simplified my house a few years ago, and got rid of a lot of things on Ebay. When I see her collections of pie birds and the like, it makes me really regret what I've done.

The club meets Feb, March, April May, June, September and October. There are six of us in the club, so each of us get a turn to host the club. The host picks out the menu and assigns each of us a recipe. She also provides the drinks and bread if appropriate.

Pictured left to right, seated: Teri, Barbara. Standing: Mari, Terry, Debbie. You could look high and low and you wouldn't find a better bunch of ladies.

My recipe was a Pumpkin Cheesecake with a Gingersnap Pecan Crust and Marshmallow Sour Cream topping. Do you think I got a photo of it? Of course not. Funny story about the cheesecake. Pulling it out of the oven, I misjudged the height of the puffed up cake and tore the top off of it with the oven rack. No problem I thought, the marshmallow topping will cover a multitude of sins. And it did. Until, when putting it in the car to transport it, I shoved my elbow into it. Nice.

The recipe I want to share with you today is for the Pumpkin Soup that we had. There is a mental barrier for me and pumpkin served in any other way than a pie, a bread or cookie. It's like eating shrimp cake...I don't know how to describe it.

I'm glad I got over my issues and ate this soup. It was lovely. So good. The relish on the top really made it special. I hope that you'll give it a go this year!

Here's a link to the recipe. That way you can print it out easily.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/pumpkin-soup-with-chili-cran- apple-relish-recipe/index.html

To my cooking club girls...if you are reading this....I love you all dearly. You all hold such a special place in my heart, and I look up to each and every one of you.