Acquiring containers

Have you ever bought something, just so you could have the container? Tell me that I'm not the only one who does this! Sometimes I find a something or other that's just okay, but it's in a great container. I acquired a couple of very nice glass jars that way -- some "gourmet" food items, found on clearance at Marshall's, in old-style glass storage jars with wire bail closures.

I'll also buy grocery store items, with the idea that the container would be perfect for some use. See the above photo. The rectangular plastic containers held baby food. Nope, no babies around here. But I liked their size, about 2-3 tablespoon capacity each. They looked perfect for small amounts of trail mix, raisins or nuts, to be packed in brown bag lunches.

The day that I stumbled upon these, I scoured the baby food aisle, trying to find something that would truly be useful to me. That's when I found the baby food prunes. Baby food prunes make excellent fat substitute in baked chocolate items. I substitute pureed prunes for butter in brownies, hot fudge pudding cake and chocolate cupcakes. The prune taste is almost completely masked by the cocoa powder. So, for less than a dollar, I got 2 of these containers, with the pureed prunes as a bonus.

These small plastic containers with lids are not easy to find. Many of the fast food ones collapse too easily. The oval container, above, is a sturdy one. It held salad dressing from a catered brown bag lunch that my husband attended. This container holds about 1/4 cup, also a good size.

The carved wooden, sectioned box on my desk, holding my paper clips, rubber bands, butterfly clips and push pins, is also one of these buy-the-item-just-for-the-box acquisitions. I found it on sale, holding packets of spices. I loved the box, the spices were merely a bonus. Yard sales, thrift shops and mark down racks can be terrific shopping venues for finding containers with greater value than their contents.

Lili's Pumpkin Soup

Someone recently asked for my pumpkin soup recipe. So, the other night, I actually paid attention to what I was doing while making a pot of it, and took notes. Do you have dishes that you prepare that you just add some of this, a little of this, and taste to see what else it needs? I was trying to tell my son how much mayo to add to some cole slaw dressing the other evening, and just said "a glob of mayo". How does one quantify a glob of anything? So, as I said, with this soup, I paid attention this time, and actually measured what I usually use.

This is not a blow-your-socks-off kind of soup. There are no extraordinary ingredients. You won't need to comb the shelves of the local gourmet shop for anything in the recipe. You may already have just about everything it calls for, in your kitchen right now. It's a basic, yet very delicious, pumpkin soup. 

Lili's Pumpkin Soup (5-6 servings)

1 tablespoon any cooking oil
1 large onion, sliced thin, then rough chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
the flesh of one roasted 2 lb. sugar pie pumpkin, or 2 cups canned pumpkin puree
6 cups water and/or stock (chicken stock is preferred, but ham stock is also nice, and water will be fine, too)
dash red pepper flakes
1 large russet potato, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup shredded, cooked chicken breast
1 cup diced ham
pinch nutmeg
salt, to taste (depends on whether your stock is already salted, 1 to 2 teaspoons)
1 shallot, finely minced 


Heat a large stockpot over Medium. Add oil and onion. Saute onion until golden. Add minced garlic and cook 1 minute.

Add pumpkin, 4 cups of stock and/or water and the red pepper flakes. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

After cooking -- If your pumpkin is not pureed (for example, I roasted my pumpkin in the morning, then scraped the flesh from the skin upon cooking the soup), then either mash well with a potato masher, or use an immersion blender (I just mashed mine).

Add diced potato and 2 remaining cups of stock or water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 more minutes, stirring occasionally, to prevent scorching. Mash or blend the potatoes into the soup.

Add chicken, ham, nutmeg, and salt to taste. Heat for 5 minutes (until meats are heated through). Stir in minced shallot and serve.


I've made this with just chicken, just ham, no meat whatsoever, and with both meats. The consensus is it's at its best with both meats. I prefer using a fresh pumpkin over canned. Homecooked pumpkin has a prettier color and lighter flavor than canned. For the liquid, I prefer half chicken stock and half water. This soup is also delicious made with squash in lieu of the pumpkin, butternut squash being the favorite. One other bonus -- the leftovers freeze very well. I freeze the soup in single-size portions, for my weekday lunches.

If you liked this recipe, my name is Lili and I've been happy to provide it for you. Please leave a comment in the "comment field". If you didn't like this recipe, my name is . . .um. . .er. . .Bob, and I think the comments are malfunctioning today, yeah, that's it, the comments aren't working, so don't bother leaving one.