Roast Kabocha Squash and Sweetcorn Soup

I know, another squash soup, but they are rather lovely to cook with and make for healthy and filling lunches.  This week we ordered a special extra box from Riverford Organics which delivered 8 beautiful specimens of kabocha, acorn, butternut and small pumpkin varieties.  The kabocha was particularly beautiful, a deep speckled green with a blush of orange, and as warty as a witch's nose, so it seemed appropriate to mark Hallowe'en, or perhaps more appropriately for a Scot, Samhain, by cooking it.  The regular Riverford veg box also provided us with some sweetcorn cobs, so it seemed logical to combine them.  The usual method: cut the squash into wedges and roast.  Sweat an onion in olive oil, add the roasted squash, scooped from the skin, and the kernels from a couple of stripped sweetcorn cobs.  Just cover with veg stock, simmer for 20 minutes or so and then blend - I left half unblended to give texture.  No chilli or herbs this week, just gentle, unadorned sweetness and goodness!  Like me. (ha!)

Chickpea and Sweet Potato Curry

Another nice dish for a blustery night. I ignored Nigel's frankly pretentious admonishment to soak dried chickpeas in mineral water overnight - really! - and opened a can of organic ones instead, as I was halving the recipe. I also added a handful of spinach at the end with the coriander leaf which added a much-needed boost of green to the proceedings. I was surprised that Nigel hadn't included cumin in the spices (which otherwise included turmeric, ground coriander, mustard seeds, red chilli and cardamom) so I bunged a teaspoonful in as I think its flavour complements the earthiness of chickpeas and sweet potato.

Can't find the recipe online, but essentially, you saute an onion and a couple of crushed cloves of garlic. Add the spices listed above by the teaspoon, with 4 cardamom pods, crushed open. Add 350ml of veg stock and half a tin of chopped tomatoes, and 400g in total of diced sweet potato and butternut squash, and a drained tin of chickpeas. Simmer for 20-25 mins until veg tender but not mushy, stir in chopped coriander. Add yoghurt if liked - we left it as it was.