glittyknittykitty

December 10, 2011

(Vegan) Cream of celeriac, apple and sage soup

1 tablespoon rapeseed oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 large celeriac peeled and chopped
1 large apple, peeled, cored and chopped
1 pint vegetable stock
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
3 tablespoons soya cream
salt and pepper

1. Saute onion in oil gently until soft.
2. Add celeriac, apple, stock and sage.
3. Simmer for 20 minutes or until celeriac is cooked.
4. Turn out heat.
5. Blitz until smooth.
6. Add cream, and salt & pepper to taste.

This is a sweet comforting winter soup, guaranteed to lift a jaded spirit.

Posted by glittrgirl at 1:53 PM | Comments (0)

May 23, 2011

New potato, pea and mint soup

A lovely spring/summer soup with a zingy fresh taste.

500g new potatoes, washed and diced to 1cm
2 spring onions, finely sliced
250g shelled fresh peas (you could use frozen)
zest of a lemon
juice of half a lemon
500ml vegetable stock
half a carton single soya cream
large bunch of mint leaves, chopped
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

1. Fry the spring onion gently in the olive oil until soft.


2. Add the lemon zest and fry for 30 seconds.


3. Add the potatoes and stock, bring to the boil.


4. Simmer for ten minutes until the potatoes are cooked.


5. Add the peas and cook for 3 minutes.


6. Add the juice of half a lemon, and the chopped mint.


7. Remove from the heat and blitz until smooth.


8. Add cream and season to taste.


9. Serve

.

Posted by glittrgirl at 8:06 PM | Comments (0)

February 20, 2011

Red thai spiced roasted parsnip soup

1 large onion
3 cloves garlic
2lbs parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks
Red thai paste (to taste) I like to use about half of a tub of Thai Taste Gang Ped red curry paste
1 litre vegetable stock
1 16oz tin of coconut milk (don't use the reduced fat one)
Olive oil
Basil, mint and lime wedges to serve

1. Sweat the onions and garlic in oil until soft.
2. Add the curry paste and a couple of tablespoons of coconut milk.
3. Fry gently for a couple of minutes to cook the paste.
4. Set aside
5. Roast the parsnips until soft and golden.
6. Remove from the oven, drain and add to the spice mix.
7. Add stock and coconut milk.
8. Blend until smooth.
9. Bring to boil and simmer for 10 minutes or so.
10. Serve strewn with chopped mint and basil leaves, with a couple of lime wedges on the side.
11. You can add soy sauce, ketjap manis, dried chilli flakes, slices of fresh chilli, chopped coriander - whatever takes your fancy.

A spicy winter warmer.

Posted by glittrgirl at 4:19 PM | Comments (0)

Golden root and squash soup

2 large onions, chopped
2 fat cloves garlic, sliced
1 medium sized celeriac, peeled and cut into bite sized chunks
2 large carrots, sliced thickly
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into bite sized chunks
2 large jerusalem artichokes, peeled and cut into bite sized chunks
I small pumpkin. or other squash.
Olive oil
2 litres vegetable stock
Salt, pepper and lemon juice to season

This is a fairly simple soup, but roasting the roots and squash gives it a lovely sweetness and depth of flavour you don't get from simply simmering until tender. This recipe makes quite a thick soup, which is perfect with some crusty walnut bread.

1. Fry onions and garlic slowly until soft. Set aside.
2. Heat some oil in a roasting tin, in the oven.
3. Put the remaining peeled and chopped root veggies into the hot fat, and roast at 180C until golden and soft.
4. Cut the pumpkin/squash into quarters and rub oil all over each one. Place in a dry roasting tin and cook for about 25 minutes in the oven, until soft and golden. Set aside.
5. When the root veg are cooked, take them out of the oven, remove from the oil and put into a large saucepan.
6. Scrape the flesh from the squash and add to the saucepan.
7. Mash roughly.
8. Add stock, onions and garlic.
9. Blend until smooth and thick.
10. Season to taste.
11. Reheat and serve.

Posted by glittrgirl at 4:03 PM | Comments (0)

October 24, 2010

Hot purple soup

cc: by-nc-sa Some rights reserved by chronographia
www.flickr.com/photos/chronographia/2721145046/

1 oz butter
2 medium onions, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 pounds cooked beetroot, chopped into 1 inch cubes
2 lbs purple potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1 inch cubes
2 medium cooking apples, chopped into 1 inch cubes
2 scotch bonnet (or other hot) chillis
2 litres vegetable stock
salt and pepper

• Saute the onions and garlic until transparent and soft.
• Add the cooked beetroot and potatoes, together with the stock.
• Bring to the boil and simmer.
• Season.
• Add the apple and chillis and simmer until the veg are soft.
• Season again if necessary.
• Blitz and serve with a dollop of yoghurt and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Posted by glittrgirl at 3:29 PM | Comments (0)

September 27, 2010

Sweet and spicy warming autumn broth

Photo: cc-by http://flic.kr/p/dyLHF
Some rights reserved. By _sarchi.

Following on from Scumkitten's recent recipe for carrot, apple and herb soup, this broth is also sweet and savoury, but with the addition of lentils, scotch bonnet chilli and fresh ginger, is a sweet and spicy hearty bowl of yumminess to come home to.

2 tablespoons rapeseed oil
2 large onions, chopped finely
2 sticks celery, chopped finely
3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
2lbs carrots, grated
2 large cooking apples, peeled and grated
200 g red lentils
2 pints vegetable stock
1 scotch bonnet chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 inch cube ginger, peeled and grated
black pepper
wedges of lemon to serve

1. Gently sweat the onions, celery and garlic in the oil until softened and transparent.
2. Add the carrots, apples. lentils and stock.
3. Add the chilli and ginger, and a good pinch of ground black pepper.
4. Simmer until the lentils are cooked.
5. Serve with wedges of lemon to squeeze into the broth, some crusty bread and a dollop of Greek yoghurt.

Edited to add the scotch bonnet is important in this recipe. This chilli, as well as being hot, has a lovely sweet fruity flavour which complements the apple and ginger perfectly.

Posted by glittrgirl at 10:45 AM | Comments (1)

September 15, 2010

More soup- it is Autumn after all!

Carrot, Apple and Herb Soup

A beautiful pale golden soup, sweet and savoury at the same time.

1 1/2 oz butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 sticks of celery, chopped
16 oz carrots, chopped
1 large cooking apple, chopped
Stock

to garnish: plain yogurt and some chopped herbs- e.g. chervil, lovage, mint, chives

Melt the butter in a saucepan and sweat your onion and celery until soft. Add carrot and apple, and sweat for a few minutes. Add enough stock (I've used a good vegetable bouillon, and also some homemade chicken stock here) to just cover the vegetables. Simmer until carrots are tender. Add seasoning (salt and pepper) to taste, and blend until smooth.

Serve with a swirl of plain yoghurt and a good sprinkling of chopped herbs- I used a mix of mint and chives.

Posted by scumkitten at 12:45 PM | Comments (1)

September 11, 2010

Creamy pesto vegetable soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 oz butter
4-5 small onions, halved, and sliced finely
2 sticks celery, sliced finely
3 large white potatoes, peeled and chopped into bitesize chunks
1 small sweet potato, peeled and chopped into bitesize chunks
1 1/2 lbs baby carrots, cleaned and sliced
2 pints vegetable stock
1/2 pint skimmed milk
Salt and both white & black pepper.
Finely grated zest of a lemon
2 tablespoons homemade pesto
6 basil leaves, torn, per person

Sweat the oinions and celery in the oil and butter for about ten minutes until soft, but not coloured.
Add the potatoes, carrots and stock.
Simmer until the veg are tender.
Season.
Take off the heat.
Add the milk, lemon zest and pesto.
Stir.
Check seasoning again.
Serve. Throw in some torn basil and enjoy in the remaining sunshine.

Posted by glittrgirl at 5:32 PM | Comments (0)

August 15, 2010

Carrot, lime and ginger soup

It's been a while since a soup recipe. This one is very summery - nice hot or cold - and uses up carrots that are not quite pretty enough to put on a plate raw.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 stick celery, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1-1.5 lbs carrots, chopped
3/4 litre stock (we like Marigold vegetable bouillon)
zest and juice of 2 limes
1 inch cube ginger, grated
2 oz ground almonds
greek fat free yoghurt
flakes of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Saute the onion, celery, ginger and garlic in the oil for about 5 minutes until soft.
2. Add the carrots and most of the lime zest (keep a few strands back for garnish).
3. Add the stock and bring to the boil. Turn down to a simmer and cook until the carrots are soft. Season to taste.
4. Cool slightly and blitz smooth.
5. Stir in the ground almonds. NB Make sure they are fresh, as old almonds are horrid and go bitter.
6. Stir in the lime juice, keeping a few drops back for garnish.
7. Serve with a dollop of yoghurt, decorated with a few strands of lime zest and a few drops of juice, together with more black pepper to taste. NB You can add a few drops of tabasco for a kick.

Enjoy!

Posted by glittrgirl at 4:30 PM | Comments (0)

January 10, 2010

Sweet potato, smoked paprika and peanut soup

This is SO yummy.

2 tablespoons vegetable oil (peanut oil is great for this recipe)
1 large onion, finely chopped
2/3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 oz mushrooms finely chopped
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika - either sweet or hot. You may want to use less chilli if you go for hot. I use hot and keep the same amount of chilli. I like mine spicy.
1/2 inch fresh ginger root, peeled and finely grated
1 1/2 pints vegetable stock
2 large sweet potatoes, 1 peeled and chopped into cubes, the other one should be pre-cooked and mashed.
1 can tomatoes
Half a jar smooth peanut butter - not the sweetened US variety, it needs to be unsweetened.

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the onion, garlic and mushrooms. Cook gently until soft.
2. Add the chilli, paprika and ginger and cook for a couple of minutes.
3. Add the stock, tomatoes, raw sweet potato and simmer until tender.
4. Liquidize until smooth.
5. Add the cooked sweet potato and the peanut butter and stir gently until thoroughly mixed.

This looks like its going to be a thin soup, but the addition of the cooked sweet potato and peanut butter makes it thicken up a lot.

Posted by glittrgirl at 1:01 PM | Comments (1)

January 13, 2009

Cajun split pea soup

Nothing goes together like January and soup, it seems! Healthy and souper cheap.

1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp roasted paprika
160g dried yellow split peas
vegetable stock
water
1 small tin of sweetcorn
Handful of fresh or frozen chopped coriander
salt and pepper

Fry the onion in the oil until soft, adding the chilli powder and paprika half way through. Add the split peas and add enough boiling water to cover by an inch or so (you can add water throughout the cooking process if necessary, to keep the split peas from drying out). Bring to the boil and cook at a strong simmer for 10 minutes. Add vegetable stock to your taste (I added 4 tsp of Marigold Bouillon) and turn down to simmer gently for another 30 minutes. Add the sweetcorn and coriander and simmer for another 5 minutes. Blend to your taste- I blended about 3/4 of the soup and left 1/4 to provide some substance. Thin down the soup to your taste with more hot water if necessary. Season with salt and pepper.

Posted by scumkitten at 10:07 AM | Comments (2)

January 12, 2009

Minus-strone

I made a batch of this from the things that were still usable in the bottom of my fridge and it was, well, delicious! It tastes kind of like a minestrone, but without pasta, and with chick peas. I love chick peas.

1/2 an onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 sticks celery, chopped
1 tablespoon oil
2 potatoes, chopped
2 broccoli stalks, chopped
1/2 tin plum tomatoes
zest of a lemon
1 litre vegetable stock
half a bag frozen chopped spinach
1 tin chick peas
juice of a half a lemon
salt and pepper

Saute the onion, celery and garlic in the oil until soft. Add the potatoes, broccoli stalks, tomatoes and lemon zest together with the stock. Bring to the boil and simmer until the veg are soft. Add the chickpeas and spinach, bring back to the boil and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Add the lemon juice, season to taste and serve.....

Posted by glittrgirl at 3:44 PM | Comments (1)

September 21, 2008

Sweet potato, lime and coconut soup

1 tablespoon oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 fat cloves garlic, finely sliced
1 inch square piece of ginger, peeled and julienned
2lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
zest and juice of 2 limes
2 pints vegetable stock
half a block of creamed coconut
salt and pepper

Heat and oil, and sweat the onions until they got transparent. Add the garlic and ginger and fry gently for a couple of minutes. Add the sweet potatoes and fry a further couple of minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the stock, season, bring to the boil and simmer, covered, gently for 15-20 minutes, or until the sweet potato is cooked and soft.

Cool slightly. Liquidise. Add the creamed coconut in chunks and stir until dissolved. Heat gently, if required. Season again to taste, and throw in the lime juice just before serving. Yo can use more coconut cream if you like a really creamy soup (I do).

This makes a sweet and creamy soup, which is a nice change from my usual version which has chillis in it.

Posted by glittrgirl at 3:20 PM | Comments (0)

September 16, 2008

Carrot, lentil and lemon soup

I see your daal, and I raise...

2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 stick of celery, chopped
1 clove of garlic, squished and chopped

4 medium carrots, chopped/sliced/diced, doesn't matter
4 oz red lentils
1 1/2 pints of stock

zest of half a lemon
2 tbsps lemon juice

Sweat the onion, celery and garlic in the olive oil until soft. Add the carrots and let cook for 5 minutes over a gentle heat. Add the lentils, mix in so covered in oil, cook for a minute. Add stock, simmer until carrots are tender and lentils cooked. Add salt and pepper to taste and the lemon zest and juice, and blend until smooth.

Posted by scumkitten at 3:21 PM | Comments (3)

Lentil and spinach daal style soup

2 large onions, finely sliced
3/4 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
7 oz red lentils
5 tablespoons brown rice
1.5 litres stock (I use Swiss Bouillon powder)
2cm cube of fresh ginger, cut into tiny matchsticks
2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons sea salt
0.5 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons kalongi (black onion seeds)
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1.5 tablespoons ground turmeric
pinch chilli flakes

150g frozen spinach - cooked and drained

Lemon wedges to garnish.

Gently fry the onions for a few minutes in the olive oil, add garlic and ginger, and soften. Add spices and fry for a few minutes to release the aromas.

Add rice and lentils, and coat in oily spice mixture. Add stock and bring to the boil. Simmer until lentils and rice are cooked (about 20 minutes).

Add the drained spinach and season to taste.

Serve with crusty bread and a lemon wedge for each person to squeeze into their soup. You can also serve with a few drops of tabasco.

Posted by glittrgirl at 2:34 PM | Comments (0)

July 10, 2008

New Covent Garden Food Co Beetroot and Rhubarb Soup

Sounds so lovely I had to share....

There are a few more on their website and they all sound lovely!

Posted by glittrgirl at 4:39 PM | Comments (0)

January 16, 2008

Potage Crecy with Peppers

Have rather a lot of carrots left over at the moment. This soup is something I'm going to try tonight- Peppadew Peppers are the tiny round preserved peppers you can buy in jars. We always have some hanging around as are slightly hot and nice cut up in salads etc.

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
500g carrots, peeled and sliced
Bouquet garni of 3 sprigs thyme or lemon thyme, 1 sprig tarragon, 2 sprigs parsley and 1 bay leaf, tied together (or whatever herbs you have- I'm just using thyme and a bay leaf)
2 tbsp pudding rice (NB I don't have any pudding rice, so used normal rice)
4 hot or 6 mild Peppadew peppers, roughly chopped
1.5 litres light chicken or vegetable stock
Squeeze of lemon juice

Sweat the onion, carrots and bouquet garni for 10 minutes. Add the rice and peppers and stir well. Add the stock, season with salt and pepper, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the rice and carrots are tender. Cool slightly, remove the bouquet garni then liquidise. Add a little more stock if the soup is too thick, and stir in a squeeze of lemon juice. Check the seasoning.

When eating, add a swirl of soured cream then top with torn coriander or parsley and sliced Peppadews. Or not, if you don't have any coriander or parsley (which I don't, it being winter, and fresh summer herbs being a thing of extravagance ;) )

Posted by scumkitten at 10:39 AM | Comments (1)

December 15, 2007

Tomato and tangerine soup

This is a little gem that is so easy to make it belies it's complex flavour. Don't be put off - it really is delicious, warming, a little exotic and perfect as a Christmas starter.

2 shallots, finely chopped
a little oil (I use grapeseed)
2 16oz tins of plum tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato puree
a good sized glass of tangerine juice
1 pint good vegetable stock (we are big fans of Marigold Swiss Bouillon)
A decent sized pinch of sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

Sweat the shallots in the oil until they are soft and have turned transparent.

Liquidise the tomatoes with the tomato puree.

Add to the onions together with the stock. Season with salt and pepper and add a good sized pinch of sugar.

Gradually add the tangerine juice until you get the balance of sweet and tart which tickles your personal palate, then simmer for about 5 minutes until you are sure the shallots are cooked through.

Serve with some bits of tangerine zest and some chopped chives - it looks and smells really festive.

Also remember that tinned tomatoes are really, really, really good for you.

Posted by glittrgirl at 9:29 AM | Comments (0)

November 17, 2007

Still got parsnips, so...

Parsnip and apple curried soup

Of mine own invention (i.e. what I did have in't cupboard)

1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves (crushed, chopped)
1 tbsp sunflower oil
20 g butter

Melt butter and oil, then add onion and garlic and allow to soften gently.

1 large tsp coriander seed
1 large tsp cumin seed
6 cardomon pods (only the seeds- discard the outer casing)

dry fry the spices until they start to pop. Crush in a pestel and mortar.

Add crushed spices to onion mix, and also add:

1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground tumeric

Then add:

500g parsnips, peeled and chopped
1 cooking apple (about 200-300g) peeled and chopped

Give it all a good mix, and add 800ml stock (again, used Marigold Bouillon)

Simmer for 30 minutes.

Puree and season to taste.

Posted by scumkitten at 1:22 PM | Comments (1)

November 10, 2007

'Snip, Leek and Lemon Soup

It's 'snip time again in the organic veg box. We love them chez Scummie, and DJ Mikey has requested parsnip and apple soup for when he returns from his surgery next week. For this weekend, I'm going to try something different, using veg I have in the fridge. I love adding lemon to soups too, as it adds a real freshness.

Ingredients

400g parsnips
20g butter
2 leeks
2 heaped tablespoons yoghurt(I guess you can use milk or cream too, but I don't have any)
700ml (1 1/4pts) vegetable stock (I use Marigold bouillon)
1 bayleaf
grated rind and juice of half a lemon

Peel and slice the parsnips and wash and slice the leeks. Melt the butter and cook the parsnips and leeks for 5 minutes in a covered saucepan. Add the stock, grated lemon rind and bayleaf. Bring to the boil and simmer gently until the vegetables are tender. Cool, remove the bayleaf and add the lemon juice. Puree in a blender, add the yoghurt and gently reheat but do not boil.

The yoghurt and lemon cuts through the sweetness of the parsnip (which can sometimes be a bit too much for me). It is a very thick soup, so make sure the parsnips are well cooked and if you want to thin it, just add more stock or milk at the end.

Posted by scumkitten at 12:25 PM | Comments (1)

November 7, 2007

Chilli bacon, butterbean and savoy cabbage soup

1 stick celery, chopped finely
2 shallots, chopped finely
1 large clove garlic, chopped finely
4 rashers streaky bacon, chopped
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
4 small potatoes, sliced finely
Half a medium sized savoy cabbage, shredded finely
1 tin butter beans, drained
1.5 pints vegetable stock
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Salt & white and black pepper

Fry the celery, shallots and garlic gently in the oil for 5 minutes until soft. Add the bacon and fry for a few minutes more until the fat begins to render. Add the chilli and the potatoes. Saute for a minute then add hot stock. Add the cabbage and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked. Add the butter beans and simmer a couple more minutes. Season with two peppers (the white really adds to the kick of the chilli) and salt. Serve with nice bread to soak up the juices. Yummy.

Posted by glittrgirl at 7:09 PM | Comments (2)

May 16, 2007

Coconut and butternut squash soup

A little vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed or finely chopped
2 medium or 1 very large butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cubed
2-3 teaspoons Thai curry paste (I like red for this recipe)
1 pint vegetable stock (we like Marigold Bouillon here at gkk)
1/2 a 16oz can coconut milk
chopped fresh coriander leaves for garnish
a squeeze of lime juice (optional)

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, then fry the onion and garlic gently for about 5 minutes until soft.

Add the squash and fry for a couple more minutes.

Add the stock, bring to the boil and simmer until the squash is tender.

Blend until smooth, then add the coconut milk. Heat through and season with salt, pepper and lime juice to taste.

Serve with a good sprinkle of chopped fresh coriander leaves.

You will need loads of nice bread with this soup as it is quite quite delicious.

Posted by glittrgirl at 7:44 PM | Comments (1)

April 29, 2007

Carrot, orange and tomato soup

1 medium sized onion, chopped finely
2 sticks celery, chopped finely
knob of butter or a tablespoon vegetable oil
2lbs carrots, grated
1 pint vegetable stock
1 x 16oz tin of chopped tomatoes
1 large glass orange juice
1 oz ground almonds (optional)
salt and pepper

Sweat the onion and celery in the butter or oil until soft. Add the grated carrots and the stock and bring to a simmer, then add the tomatoes and the orange juice, bring back to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes until the carrots are soft.

At this stage you can decide whether you want a more chunky soup, and season to taste before serving.

Alternatively, blend, then stir in the ground almonds, and season to taste. Serve with cheese scones.

This soup is deliciously savoury and sweet at the same time, and is fantastic for using up stuff in the fridge.

Posted by glittrgirl at 9:28 AM | Comments (0)

April 28, 2007

Scones (and soup)

I made cheese scones and tomato, orange and carrot soup for tea.

Cheese scones
8oz plain flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
pinch salt
black pepper
pinch dry english mustard
1 oz soft butter
2 oz strong cheddar cheese, grated
1 egg
milk

Sift the flour and other dry ingredients together into a mixing bowl. Add the butter and rub together until the mixture resembles fine breadcrcumbs. Add the cheese and mix. Whisk the egg and a couple of tablespoons of milk together and add to the ddry ingredients. Mix gently, and keep adding a little more milk until the mix comes together into a soft dough.

Turn out on to a floured board or granite worktop!

Knead very gently, and then roll out until 1.5 cm thick. Cut intl small rounds and place on a baking tray. Bake in a hot oven (200C) for 12 minutes.

Soup recipe to follow after I have eaten.

Posted by glittrgirl at 6:25 PM | Comments (1)

March 11, 2007

Stinger Soup

Nettles, hmmm, stingy

So, as promised, I spent 45 minutes wandering the Cornish lanes yesterday morning with a yellow marigold glove on one hand and a plastic bag clutched in the other, picking out the tops of the spring nettles. The lanes around our village are typical Devon/Cornish, high sided, built up on raised banks and filled with flora and fauna, with badger and fox tracks running up and down the vegetation. When I go for a run in the early morning, I often find spiders' webs spanning the road, covered in sparkling dew to bar the way. Yesterday was a perfect spring morning, with primroses and hawthorn flowering, bright china blue sky and the air filled with overexcited bird song. Sometimes, if lucky, you can see hares in the freshly ploughed terracota fields.

So, pretty much, the perfect place and time in the world to go and pick nettle tops for the following soup, a personal alteration of a Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall recipe: Hugh didn't include bacon, but we have a quarter of Gracie the pig in our freezer, including bacon, so it seems an ideal opportunity to use some of her. Thanks Gracie!

Nettle, White Bean and Bacon Soup
A chunky, stew-style soup. Cheap too. But you will get some odd looks from the lady who lives next door and asks what you are doing with all those nettles.

1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 tbsps olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
200g fresh spring nettle tops
6 rashers of bacon, chopped (or pancetta will work too)
2 tins of some sort of white bean- I used cannellini beans- flagolet would work too as would chickpeas
approx. 200ml vegetable stock

First, pick the nettles- chose, if possible, nettles that grow above knee level, to avoid picking ones that have been pissed on by passing dogs or other animals.... ideally, you want to pick the very new growth at the tip of the plant- the top 6 or so leaves will do. Make sure you wear a glove! Get the nettles home and give them a good wash in several changes of cold water (still wearing your glove). Ideally, chose a bright spring morning, have a good cup of coffee on hand, a nice Radio 4 programme on and the possibility of an outing by the sea for the afternoon.

Drain the nettles (don't be too thorough) and put them in a pan over a medium heat. Let them wilt, then cool. Press any excess water out and chop, removing any tough stalks.

Sweat the onion and garlic in the olive oil until translucent. Add the bacon or pancetta and sweat for a little longer. Add beans and stock and simmer for 5 minutes or so. Add chopped nettles and season with salt and pepper. Eat.

It is good. Really, really good.

Posted by scumkitten at 11:05 AM | Comments (4)

March 5, 2007

Celeriac and blue cheese soup

Celeriac, hmm, lumpy

I am having another soup moment: this time I needed to use up a celeriac that had been placed in our organic veg box. Luckily, the box people had provided a recipe for the above soup, and very nice it was too.


Celeriac and blue cheese soup

1 medium onion, chopped
500g celeriac, peeled and chopped
900 ml veg stock
150 ml single cream
100g blue cheese (I used a local cornish cheese. Any crumbly blue cheese will do. Remember you will get the cheese melting and the blue veins kind of floating around, so don't be distressed by this)
salt/pepper

Gently saute the onion and celeriac until the onion is translucent. Add the stock, bring to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes/until the celeriac is tender. Cool a little, then blend. Stir in the cream and blue cheese, and heat gently to melt. Add seasonings to taste. Works very well with a nutty spelt or walnut bread.

Next in soupkitty: I'm hoping to collect some nettle tops, so stay tuned.

Posted by scumkitten at 11:14 AM | Comments (0)

January 17, 2007

Very delicious triple onion soup

1 very large white onion, finely sliced
1 lb red onions, finely sliced
3 shallots, finely sliced
3 cloves garlic, finely sliced
1 oz butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon of sugar
pinch of dried thyme
salt & pepper
1 pint good quality beef stock
1/2 pint water
3 tablespoons dry sherry
1 tablespoon brandy
few drops lemon juice

Gently fry all the onions in the oil and butter for 15 minutes. Add the garlic. Add the sugar.

Fry gently until the onions go golden brown, stirring regularly, they will reduce in size by about 3/4.

Add the thyme, beef stock, water, sherry, salt and pepper.

Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Add the brandy. Simmer for 1 minute. Add lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot with a slice of french bread, topped with grilled gruyere cheese, floating on the top of your soup.

Posted by glittrgirl at 7:28 PM | Comments (0)

January 4, 2007

Chilled carrot and apricot soup

1 medium onion
3 large carrots
6-7 oz ready to eat dried apricots (I use the dark ones preserved without sulphur)
1 cinnamon stick
1 pint vegetable stock (I use Marigold Bouillon)
salt & pepper
1/4 pint natural yoghurt

Put the apricots in a bowl and pour over a pint of boiling water. Leave to stand.
Chop the onion finely, chop the carrots into small pieces.
Place in a pan with the stock, cinnamon stick and some salt & pepper, toss in the apricots and their liquid.
Bring to the boil and simmer for about an hour.
Leave to cool slightly, then liquidise with the yoghurt.
Chill.
Eat.
Nice with a squeeze of lime juice and another dollop of yoghurt.

Posted by glittrgirl at 7:38 PM | Comments (0)

October 10, 2006

Bread with your soup?

Linseed: a sea of calm

During my time in Norfolk I often saw fields of linseed alongside the ubiqitous rapeseed. The shimmering pale lilac grey often made me think I was seeing a particularly rectangular lake, it is so reminiscent of water...

Anyway, the only reason I'm banging on about linseed is that the following recipe uses it (in seed rather than oil form, so no use for those cricketing fanatics out there) and is therefore rather good for you, as well as being very tasty. Although I'll warn you now, it is dense. Very dense. It's supposed to be dense, OK? And you don't have to knead it at all. Or leave it to rise. What more do you want, blood?

P.s. to those of you who know what I'm talking about, apologies for the potato incident.


Norwegian Loaf

350g Wholemeal bread flour
50g Rye flour
7g sachet of dried easy use yeast
50g porridge oats
25g wheatgerm
3tbsp linseed
3tbsp sunflower seeds
1tsp salt

250ml milk
250ml water

Stir the dry ingredients together and add the milk and water. Can you believe I had ALL of the above ingredients in my cupboard last night? Stir well- it should give you a weird porridgey consistancy. Don't worry about this. It is as it should be. Tip into a very well buttered 1 lb loaf tin and place in a cold oven. Turn the oven on to 100C and cook for half an hour. Then turn the temperature up to 180C and cook for another hour. Leaving the oven on, turn bread out of tin and check either by tapping the bottom (should sound hollowish) or using a skewer (should come out cleanish). If you think it needs a bit longer, bung it back in the oven for another 10 minutes.

This will give you a dense, healthy, tasty loaf to have with...

SOUP!

Posted by scumkitten at 1:21 PM | Comments (3)

August 31, 2006

Celeriac soup and blue cheese croutons

Celeriac, mmmmm

Celeriac is so in season right now that it is totally appropriate to post this recipe.

2 tablsespoons olive oil
2 leeks, finely sliced
2 carrots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
large pinch of soft brown sugar, or small drizzle of honey
1 large celeriac, chopped
2 litres Swiss Bouillon or other good veggie stock
salt and pepper
half a lemon

Fry leeks, carrots and garlic in oil until soft. Add fennel seeds, sugar and celeriac and fry another 5 minutes or so. Simmer for about half an hour until the celeriac is completely soft. Blend and season with salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste. Celeriac makes a really smooth soup, not unlike the texture of pumpkin or sweet potato soup.

The UK Vegetarian Society also has a great recipe for Pear and Celeriac Soup.

Blue cheese croutons would go perfectly with either.

Blue cheese croutons

Slice up a baguette into 1 inch slices. Either brush with olive oil and toast, ot toast nude under a grill. Crumble blue cheese (just choose your favourite) into a bowl and mash thoroughly with a small amount of softened butter (1 oz or so will do 4 people). Rub the croutons scantily with a juicy peeled clove of garlic. Spread the blue cheese on top and toast again for a minute or so. Eat with gusto and black pepper. And soup.

Choose blackberry and apple pie or crumble afterwards, with cream, for a total taste of the season here in the UK.

Posted by glittrgirl at 12:47 PM | Comments (1)

August 28, 2006

Roast Tomato Soup

Too many tomatoes?

I picked over a lb of tomatoes before we headed for the far North last week- I made them into a big tomato salad and very sparky they were too... but coming back yesterday I knew that there would be another massive pile waiting for me. I assumed that they would all be chewed by slugs, but no: over a kilo of bright red and shiny yellow cherry tomatoes awaited me. I therefore decided to use them to make this soup (thanks to Delia):

Roast Tomato Soup

900 g fresh tomatoes, skinned and halved
2 fat cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
three sprigs of basil
3 tbsps of olive oil
1 tsp of balsamic vinegar
5 oz potato, peeled and chopped
1 tsp tomato puree
15 fl. oz. water

Oven at 190 C

Skin the tomatoes, half and place cut side up in a roasting tin. Drizzle with 2 tbsps of olive oil, rip up a few leaves of basil over the tomato and sprinkle crushed garlic over the tomatoes. Season. Roast tomatoes for 50-60 minutes.

20 minutes before the tomatoes are done, simmer the potato in the water with the tomato puree, for 20 minutes.

Put tomatoes, roasting juice, potato and cooking water into a blender and blend until vaguely smooth (!). Crush the remaining basil in a pestel with a sprinkle of salt until pureed. Add a tbsp of oil and a tsp of balsamic vinegar and mix. Drizzle a little on to the top of each portion of soup.

Posted by scumkitten at 6:34 PM | Comments (3)

July 21, 2006

Ice cream is just frozen soup, right?

White chocolate, clotted cream and orange ice cream

Adapted from a recipe on the BBC Food site.

Ingredients
350ml/12fl oz whole milk
150g/5oz good quality white chocolate such as Green & Black's, broken into small pieces
2 large oranges, finely grated zest only
5 medium eggs, yolks only
110g/4oz caster sugar
150g/5oz clotted cream

Put the milk, chocolate and orange zest in a saucepan. Stir gently over a low heat until the chocolate has completely melted and the milk is at a simmer, but not boiling.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture is light in colour, thick and creamy.

Sit the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, making sure it doesn't actually touch the water. Pour over the hot chocolate orange milk and stir, gently,until you have a custard, thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. This can take up to 30 minutes. Once thickened, remove from the heat and stir in the clotted cream, then leave to cool.

WEhen the mixture is cold, pour into a mould and place in your freezer, taking it out every hour or so, to whisk, break up ice crystals and mix it all up. You may need to do this 5 or 6 times, unless you have an ice cream maker, which takes care of all the hard guess work for you. To enjoy the ice cream at its best, eat fresh, and freeze any remaining mixture.

If you're making the ice cream in advance, transfer to the freezer in a covered container. When you wish to serve it, remove from the freezer and keep at room temperature for 10 minutes, or transfer to the fridge 30 minutes before serving to soften.

Store in the freezer for no longer than 3 weeks to enjoy at its best.

I guarantee it won't last that long.

Mandarine Napoleon is delicious drizzled over it to serve. Grand Marnier or Cointreau are nice too, but not as nice as Mandarine Napoleon.

Posted by glittrgirl at 9:51 AM | Comments (3)

July 5, 2006

Fennel Gazpacho

Need some lycopene?

So summer is here (in a sense, at least- whilst the rest of the UK is suffering from having temperatures hotter than Rio, we here in Cornwall are sitting under a chilly sea fog), and soups are generally not on the agenda... however, I've just made myself a variation of Gazpacho for my lunch, with some fennel and coriander seed to ring the changes (and I had some fennel)...

Fennel Gazpacho

2 large fennel bulbs
15 fl oz. water
1 1/2 lbs ripe tomatoes
one large onion
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large clove of garlic
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. coriander seed
1 tsp tomato puree
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice

Slice the fennel bulbs, removing the tough stem area. Add the water and a pinch of salt and simmer for ten minutes with saucepan lid on.

Pour boiling water over the tomatoes and let stand for a few minutes. Drain and remove skins and roughly chop tomatoes.

Chop onion and garlic and sweat in olive oil for 5 minutes. Add freshly ground black pepper and coriander seeds, chopped tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and tomato puree. Stir, then add in fennel and fennel water. Simmer for 30 minutes with saucepan lid off. Then let it cool slightly, blend to a puree and leave to cool totally. Then put in fridge and chill for several hours.

Eat cold. Although it's nice warm too :)

Posted by scumkitten at 12:55 PM | Comments (0)

June 12, 2006

Ajo blanco con uvas

As it's Summer, cold soups would seem to the the order of the day. So here is a variation on the traditional Andalucian white garlic soup with grapes.

8oz day old bread (no crusts)
8oz ground almonds
2-3 cloves garlic
5 fl oz olive oil (extra virgin)
5 tbsp wine vinegar
2 tsp salt
1.5 pints water
5-6 oz white grapes, deseeded

The bread should be soaked in water until it is soft, then squeezed out and placed in a blender/food processor with almonds and garlic. Blend with a little water until it is a smooth paste, then with the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil slowly. Add vinegar and salt. Add more salt is necessary then stir in the remaining water.

Check for seasoning, adding more salt and vinegar to taste. Chill thoroughly. Serve in individual bowls with halved grapes and a couple of ice cubes. Serves 4-6, depending how hungry you are, how greedy you are, or how delicious you think it is......

Posted by glittrgirl at 4:39 PM | Comments (0)

April 23, 2006

Bean and Vegetable Soup for cold nights

Beeeeeanz

I am here, bowing my head, as ashamed as Glittr at our laxness in Soupkitty recently: my excuse involves large amounts of snot, feeling like shite and being in Canada. But I made some soup today which was so nice I thought I'd share- the weather may be warming up (no gloves or hat in the surf yesterday... yay!), but there's still enough of a chill to warrant a chunky vegetable soup. There's bacon/ham in this here soup, but feel free to avoid if meat offends....


Bean and Vegetable Soup

2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 rashers of bacon or a handful of parma ham
two sticks of celery, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 large leek, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
handful of parsley and thyme, or whatever fresh herbs you have, including a bayleaf
two tins of beans of your choice, drained- I use one of borlotti and one of cannelli
1 1/2 pints of vegetable stock (I use Marigold bouillon)
salt and pepper

Gently sweat the onions, celery and garlic in the olive oil for 10 minutes. Add the chopped vegetables and bacon/ham for another 5 minutes. Add drained beans, herbs and stock. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Posted by scumkitten at 7:46 PM | Comments (0)

April 9, 2006

Remiss in the soup department

Green, peppery, yummy.

It's been a while since we had a soup recipe. So bearing in mind that seasonality is all, and we are just into Spring, what could be better than watercress soup. I love watercress soup, it's so light and tasty and satisfying.

Watercress soup

1 onion finely chopped
1/2 oz butter
2 medium sized potatoes, chopped
1 bunch of watercress, cleaned and chopped
1.5 pints vegetable stock
1 tablespoon chives
1oz flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/4 pint cream
salt and black pepper
lemon juice
dash tabasco sauce

Gently saute the onion in the butter until soft, add the potato and stock. Simmer until the potato is tender. Add watercress, and simmer for five minutes. Add chives and parsley, and remove from the heat. Liquidise and add tabasco, salt and pepper, cream and a few drops of lemon juice. Add a bit more pepper and serve.

You can add a tablespoon of greek yoghurt to garnish, or another swirl of cream. Yummy.

Posted by glittrgirl at 12:11 PM | Comments (2)

February 27, 2006

Lentil, garlic & rosemary soup

Red lentils

500g red lentils
A litre and a half of water or vegetarian stock
1 whole bulb of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
large sprig of fresh rosemary, finely chopped or two teaspoons of dried
4 medium carrots chopped into small dice
sea salt & lemon to taste

Put the lentils in a large saucepan and cover with the water/stock - bring to the boil then add the garlic, rosemary and carrots. Simmer for 20 minutes until everything is tender and add salt/lemon juice to taste.

Posted by glittrgirl at 2:45 PM | Comments (0)

February 6, 2006

Onion soup and leaving on a jet plane

Nothing to do with onions

I'm going away today. For two weeks. Snowboarding. I have no pictures of onions, so instead you get one of me on the slopes from two years ago. I'm the one with the fluffy ears. Yippeee!

So my soup of the month is something we had at the weekend: Onion soup with croutons and blue cheese.

Serves 4

1 lb onions, finely sliced into rings
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp plain flour
1 1/2 pints of vegetable stock
2 tbsp of Sherry
1 tsp english mustard powder
salt and pepper.

4 slices of good, thick toast.
Blue cheese of your choosing. Or brie. Or something cheesy, at least.

Sweat the onion and garlic in the oil for at least 20 minutes, until soft and golden. Do not allow to catch and burn. Stir in the flour and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the stock, sherry and mustard powder and simmer for 30 minutes on a low heat. Season and pour into serving bowls.

Toast your bread, then tear into chunks on top of the soup. Cover in crumbled cheese of your choice and place under a hot grill for a few minutes until the cheese has melted.

N.B. blue cheese works fine- if you want cheese but no bread, then brie is fantastic cut up into lumps and thrown straight into the hot soup. It's like finding a treasure when you come across a lump.

Posted by scumkitten at 10:53 AM | Comments (0)

Wild mushroom and walnut soup

Delia's wild mushroom & walnut soup

I can't plagiarise this recipe. It's a Delia Smith recipe. It is absolutely delicious, and I urge all of you to try it. You can get the recipe from Delia Online, as well as from Delia Smith’s Christmas and The Delia Collection: Soup. - which is itself a superb source of recipes. Like all of our soup recipes, this recipe is vegetarian, and is a lovely soup to serve during the winter, for a special occasion.

Posted by glittrgirl at 8:01 AM | Comments (0)

January 2, 2006

Borscht (Russian)

Serves 6

2 lb small fresh beetroot
2 fl oz sunflower or olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and diced
3 oz carrots, chopped
1 medium potato. Doesn't really matter what size. The size of a medium adult fist, maybe?
dash of Tabasco
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
4 fl oz vodka
juice of 1 small lemon (a lime will do if need be)
salt and pepper

Wash and trim the beetroot and bring to the boil in a pan of salted water. Cook for about 45 minutes until tender but still firm. Remove, but reserve the cooking liquid for later. Slip off the beetroot skins and chop flesh into quarters.

Heat the oil and fry onion until transparent and then add diced potatoes, carrots, salt, pepper, Tabasco and garlic and gently fry for 5 minutes. Add beetroot and cook for another 2 minutes. Pour in the reserved beetroot liquid and simmer gently for another 10 minutes. Add the vodka and lemon juice and remove from heat. Blend until smooth.

If you wish, there are extra garnishes that can be added:

Deep-fry 12 oz of par-boiled and diced potatoes...
Add a dollop of greek yoghurt or sour cream...
1 tbsp dill is nicely complimentary...

N.B. If you notice that your daily motions are somewhat.... pink after eating this soup, do not panic. It is just the wonder of beetroot.

Or for those of a less delicate nature, if your shit is pink you ain't dying.

Posted by scumkitten at 7:39 PM | Comments (2)

Creamy broccoli and stilton soup

1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 sticks celery, finely chopped
1 oz butter
1 head of broccoli
1 potato, grated
3 oz blue stilton (or blue cheese of choice)
3/4 pint Swiss bouillon (or light stock)
3/4 pint of milk
4 fl oz double cream
salt & pepper
few drops lemon juice

Mmmm broccoli

Sweat the onion and celery gently in the butter until softened. Break up the broccoli and add to the pan with the Bouillon and the grated potato. Simmer until the broccoli and potato are soft. Liquidise until smooth. Add the milk and return to the heat until hot but not boiling (you don't want the milk to split). Crumble in the cheese, take off the heat and stir until the cheese is melted into the soup. Add the cream, and season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice.

Posted by glittrgirl at 12:23 PM | Comments (0)

December 24, 2005

Walnut and Red Wine Loaf... to go with your SOuP!

I've been a baaaad girl and failed in my monthly soup recipe update (Glittr did hers. She is good with respect to soup and baaaad in other ways. Good ways. Oh yes). So to make amends, here is a bread recipe to go with Glittr's soup. I've made it and it is good (and pink):

200g strong white flour
100g strong wholemeal flour
1 tsp fine salt (fine as in particled rather than, man she is one FINE Glittr! Sorry, I've been on the Sailor Jack's)
1 sachet easy-blend yeast
1 glass red wine (125ml), plus water to make 200ml total liquid
150g coarsely chopped walnuts
2tbsp olive oil

Whilst your family is in the sitting room playing Rummikub, lightly mix flours, salt and yeast together in a bowl. In a blender, savage the wine/water mix, 50g of walnuts and the oil until smooth (don't worry about it being smooth- I can never get it smooth. Lumpyish will do), then pour onto the flour.

Add the rest of the walnuts and stir with vigour, passion and a little bit unrequited love to make a soft, sticky dough. Cover and read a good book for 10 minutes.

Once you are at a place in the book where you can safely put it down, knead the bread for 10 secs or so. Cover again and leave for another 10 minutes, which should hopefully get you to the section in chapter 4 where there is no possibility of sex for at least another 30 pages. Repeat knead and put dough back into bowl and leave to rise for 45 minutes or until doubled in height. Do not allow dough to reach Dr Who villan proportions. If this occurs, it will require a VERY firm thumping, possibly wrestling, to remove excess carbon dioxide.

Place in an oiled 1lb loaf tin, pressing down firmly.Cover and leave for another hour until doubled again. Finally, thank baby Jesus, bake in a pre-heated oven (200C/400F/gm 6) for 40 minutes.

Leave to cool on a rack. Do not cut into it whilst it is still hot, you greedy buggers.

P.s. Hello Glittr, Happy Christmas Eve!!!

Posted by scumkitten at 10:52 PM | Comments (1)

December 8, 2005

Sweet potato and roasted red pepper soup

2lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1lb onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 red peppers
1 litre Swiss Bouillon vegetable stock
Olive oil and a knob of butter
Salt & pepper
Juice of half a lime (optional)
Few drops Tabasco sauce (optional)

Hold the peppers over an open flame, turning frequently until they are black all over, put them into a bowl and cover with cling film until they are cool enough to handle.

Gently fry the onions and garlic in oil and butter until they are soft in a large pan. Rub the blackened skins off the peppers and deseed and chop them.

Add the peppers to the pan, along with the chopped sweet potatoes and the stock. Simmer until the potato is soft. Blitz until smooth and thick.

Season with salt and pepper, with lime juice and a couple of drops of tabasco, depending on your mood.

Posted by glittrgirl at 2:55 PM | Comments (2)

November 1, 2005

White Cabbage and Bean Soup

Ooooh- it's soup time! Off the top of my head....

White Cabbage and Bean Soup

1 onion, finely chopped
2 sticks of celery, finely chopped
1 tsp of ground coriander
1 small red chilli, finely chopped

saute the above in some olive oil until soft.

Add a very. very finely sliced white cabbage- you want it almost like noodles or linguine in fineness. Saute for 5 minutes.

Add enough stock to cover cabbage. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Add one drained tin of butterbeans. Simmer for another 5 minutes or so, or until cabbage soft.

Season with salt and pepper. Eat.

Posted by scumkitten at 9:45 AM | Comments (0)

Lentil Soup

1lb onions, finely chopped
1lb carrots, grated
1lb split red lentils
2 litres good quality vegetable stock (you may need more depending on how thick or thin you prefer your soup - you can always add more during cooking)
one can Heinz tomato soup or Campbell's condensed tomato soup
1oz butter

Gently fry the onions in the butter for a few minutes until they begin to soften. Add the carrots, lentils and stock. Simmer, covered and stirring occasionally until the vegetables are soft and the lentils cooked. Turn off heat. Leave to cool for a few minutes. Add the can of tomato soup, mix in well.

Serve with warm bread. Yummy.

This soup sounds really boring, but it is really tasty, and filling, and gets better after a couple of days in the fridge.

My mother gave me the recipe and despite the oddness of adding a can of soup, it adds a lot of colour and flavour. Try it!

Posted by glittrgirl at 8:25 AM | Comments (0)

October 18, 2005

Carrot and lemon soup: a phone duet

Glittr and I were on the phone this evening and ended up cooking the same soup for dinner as we talked:

Hmmmm. Home-grown carrots...

Carrot and lemon soup

2 tbsps of olive oil or butter
1 onion, chopped
2 sticks of celery, chopped
8 medium sized carrots, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 tsp of finely grated lemon rind
2 tbsps of lemon juice
1 1/2 pints of water or good veggie stock
seasoning

Gently cook onion and celery in the olive oil until soft. Add carrots and bay leaf and gently cook for another 5 minutes. Add water/stock and lemon rind. Cook until vegetables turning soft. Add lemon juice. Blend soup and add seasoning.

Posted by scumkitten at 10:07 PM | Comments (4)

Leek and potato soup: olive, feta & sundried tomato scones

Someone asked if I would post the recipes for what I had for dinner the other night. So here they are....

Leek and potato soup

1 medium sized onion (finely chopped)
3 medium sized leeks (finely sliced)
5 medium sized potatoes (finely chopped)
1.5 pints light stock (Swiss Bouillon is perfect)
0.5 pint full cream milk
salt and pepper
1oz butter

Sweat the onions in the butter over a low heat in a covered pan for 3/4 minutes. Add the leeks and sweat covered for another couple of minutes. Add potatoes and stock. Simmer gently for 15/20 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked. Turn out heat and add milk. Liquidize and add salt and pepper to taste.

Olive, feta and sundried tomato scones

8oz self raising flour (or plain flour and baking powder), seived
2 oz butter
pinch of salt
Milk
8 pitted and sliced black olives
6 sliced sundried tomatoes
4 oz feta cheese, chopped into 1 cm cubes
beaten egg

Rub the butter into the flour, together with the salt. Add other dried ingredients. Add milk to form a soft dough. Roll out to 1.5cm thick and cut into scones (about 2.5 inches diameter). Place on baking sheet and brush with beaten egg. Bake in preheated oven at 180 degrees C for about ten minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack and serve with butter.

Posted by glittrgirl at 7:29 PM | Comments (1)

December 4, 2004

It's that time of year: cold remedies galore.

This may seem wierd to include this in our gluttykitty section, but not only are these cold remedies good for the immune system, they are also good for the soul. Thanks to glittrgirl and her pals for the following remedies (which I am using at the moment, sniff):

Ginger Tea with Lemon
A large chunk of fresh root ginger (2 inch square)
juice of half a fresh lemon
1 teaspoon of honey

Finely grate ginger into a teapot, pour hot water into pot (enough for two BIG cups), add lemon juice and honey. Let stand for 3-5 minutes, then drink, drink, drink.

Berry Smoothie
Handfuls of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. Two glasses of cranberry juice. Two tablespoons of yogurt. Whizz up in food processor. Drink, drink, drink.

Carrot, Ginger, Chilli and Butternut Squash Soup
Two carrots, chopped
one inch fresh ginger, chopped
one fresh chilli, chopped
one butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed and chopped
1 litre of vegetable stock

Cook together until vegetables soft. Blend. Eat slowly: it's HOT!

Am putting these up because I am ill, so ill. I could happily just lie on Glittrgirl's stash and not move for 24 hours. I have goo coming out of every orifice... Hope you are all well and not turning into a slush monster like moi.

Posted by scumkitten at 6:39 PM | Comments (0)