Aunt Jana's Famous Pumpkin Soup

4 tbs butter
1 med size leek white part only
4 c chicken broth
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
1 bay leaf
1 large onion chopped
1 lb pumpkin(fresh or canned)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1 c half and half(of course I omit this due to my milk allergy!)

in a medium soup pot, melt butter. saute onions and leek, stirring occasionally until soft. stir in pumpkin, chicken broth salt spices and bay leaf. bring to a boil lower heat and simmer,uncovered for 15 min-stirring occasionally. remove bay leaf. puree the mixture in batches in blender, for a smoother texture in a food processor fitted with metal blade. may be refrigerated or frozen at his point. when ready to serve, return soup to pot. add half and half and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally until heated. season to taste.

This is really yummy and tastes less like orange vegetable scary pumpkin and more like CURRY vegetable.

Dan learns to Scuba

We are excited for Dan. He is taking a class in high school PE, to learn to scuba dive. I went with him on the recent training trip and took some pictures of the class.
Here is Dan going down for his first open ocean beach dive. He is calm and controlled.












Here is the class on the bottom of the ocean.

Dan is swimming with the group. They were under water for about an hour.

Here he is coming back up to the light.