How time flies when you disappear off to have a baby...  Lately I’ve been spending my sleep deprived days getting to know our gorgeous little boy.  Things are a little chaotic.

In my last week of pregnancy I suddenly found the urge to cook but the seasons also changed on me and now this cherry crumble looks a little wrong.  Throw in plums or blackberries or whatever autumn fruit tickles your fancy.  Recipe here from Green Kitchen Stories along with impossibly beautiful photography.

I also made these incredible sugar free cookies.  In fact I took a batch to give me much needed energy while I was in labour.  Ha, that didn’t happen.  Labour and food did not go together.  This recipe is so good.  I’ve managed to make a couple of batches since and can’t stop munching my way through them.  Recipe here from A Sweet Spoonful.  I used pecans, pistachios and cacao nibs in place of the walnuts. Make sure you top with flaked sea salt.  Don’t skip this part, it’s key to the overall taste of the cookie.

Now that autumn is well and truly under way I’ve been getting back in to soup in a big way.  I’ve been making batches of this curried sweet potato soup at the weekends and I also made a parsnip version of this carrot and ginger soup and added a pinch of cumin to spice things up a little.  So glad it’s parsnip season again!

Everything in a Bowl

Well this has been a sorry state of affairs, no blog post for nearly a month and then all I have to show you is soup, and more butternut squash at that.  I’ve also caught myself in an awkward time zone.  It’s far too late to be mentioning Christmas, New Year or any of those resolution things so let’s just skip it all, talk about soup and pretend I didn’t fail to blog about any of that stuff. 

Soup has featured heavily around here lately.  Since the UK has been battered with storms and relentless rain we’ve gone in to hibernation mode, abandoning our usual routines in favour of reading books and eating anything out of a bowl, which usually means soup or stew but can also stretch to a jacket potato and baked beans.  The civility of the dining table has been abandoned for the comfort of the sofa and the odd film.  Meal times have really gone to pot around here. 

I made this soup for my Dad when he visited for a few days recently and he said it was “wizard” which I choose to take as a compliment.  It requires very little effort to pull together and lets the flavour of the roasted squash take centre stage. 

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup Serves 2-3

600g butternut squash peeled and chopped in to chunks *you can make them smaller than the ones in the photo for speedier cooking time.

Approx 600ml stock

1 -2 tablespoons olive oil

Sprinkling of dried rosemary

1 garlic clove finely chopped

2 shallots finely sliced.

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 6, 200°C, 400°F

Line a baking tray with parchment.  Place the chopped up butternut squash on the tray, toss in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with dried rosemary.  Roast for 40 minutes until the squash is nicely caramelised. 

About 5 minutes before the squash is ready place a splash of olive oil in a large pan and sauté the shallots for 5 minutes until soft.  Add the garlic and continue to cook for another minute.  Remove the squash from the oven and tip in to the pan.  Next add the stock and bring to a boil.  Turn down the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  Leave the soup in the pan to cool for a few minutes then blend until smooth.  Return the soup to the pan and heat through.  Serve with crusty toast and toasted almonds if you like.

Curried Sweet Potato Soup and Windy Weather

Here in the UK it’s a batten down the hatches and pull the draw bridge up sort of situation.  It’s windy, rainy and horrible out there and more grim weather is on the way.  Making soup seems like the ideal solution and while I love a pot of soup simmering on the stove, this one can actually be made in 15 minutes so it’s perfect if you are impatient and more to the point, hungry.  The earthiness of the sweet potatoes works perfectly with the warming ginger and the curry paste gives it a nice kick.  The toasted almonds give it a smoky fragrance and a lovely crunch. It’s quick to make, simple and filling.  I snapped the instagram below on a lovely autumn day in my local park, just to remind us autumn isn't all gale force winds and heavy rain!

Recipe adapted from BBC Good Food

The key here is to grate or finely chop your sweet potato in a food processor to save cooking time, however if you don’t want to do this then chop the sweet potato into chunks and simmer for longer until tender.  Grating can be very labour intensive which is why I cheat with a food processor!

Serves 2

1 large sweet potato, grated.  (mine was 500g unpeeled.)

1 tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil

1 shallot or small onion chopped

½ tablespoon fresh root ginger finely chopped

1 teaspoon curry paste (I used tikka masala)

500ml gluten free stock

Handful of toasted almonds

Peel and grate your sweet potatoes or whizz in a food processor which saves a lot of time and set aside.  In a saucepan heat the oil then add the shallot and sauté until soft, add the ginger and continue to cook until fragrant. Next add the curry paste and continue to cook for one minute.  Tip in the sweet potato and mix well.  Pour over the stock and bring to a boil.  Turn the heat down and simmer for 5-10 minutes until the potato is soft.  Allow the soup to cool slightly then whizz in a blender.  Return the soup to the saucepan and heat through.  Season to taste and serve with toasted almonds on top.  Some fresh coriander would be nice too.

Something Green aka Witches Brew



Our garden earlier today...winter is dragging it’s heels. This morning we were all set to make a day trip to the Isle of Wight to visit my Dad for his birthday.  The weather had other ideas.  “The snow won’t go south of London” said the weather forecasters.  I awoke to snow.  I kept hoping it would stop.  We ventured out but a scary twenty minute drive later we had turned our car around and were headed for home.



So what to do with another grey day stuck in doors?  Make soup of course.  I happened upon this recipe when I was searching for something else entirely.  This is a lovely chowder, bright green and so warming.  The peas are flavourful and complemented by the crisp, salty bacon.  It is one of the easiest and quickest soup recipes I’ve made.  If you have a bag of frozen peas languishing in your freezer you have to make this soup.  I also think this would work if you wanted to make it vegan.  The soup was plenty tasty enough even without the addition of the bacon.  I forgot to add the butter at the end and didn’t feel I’d missed out on anything.

It was the perfect antidote to the freezing cold day and very filling too.  The name just makes it all the morning intriguing.  Enjoy!

Recipe here.

 

Roasted Beetroot and Fennel Soup

Today is freezing.  After the glimpse of spring we enjoyed last weekend the skies have closed over in an endless grey, the temperature has plummeted and I am back to longing for the end of winter.  This morning we set off determined on one of our favourite walks.  I wasn’t going to let the fact it was snowing stop me.  After climbing a steep hill I found myself just wanting to be home.  My nose was so cold, my eyes were watering and I could hardly feel my hands.  Uncharacteristically for me and much to the amusement and most likely relief of my husband I requested we head for home.  He willingly obliged with only the gentlest of I told you so’s.  I made this beetroot soup last weekend.  It is just the thing after a freezing cold walk or to warm you up at your desk at work.  I can’t help but love beetroot with its beautiful and vibrant colour.  The beetroot and fennel get roasted with thyme until they are lovely and caramelised.  They then join shallots (or onion) and garlic in a simmering pan of stock.  Finally the soup is blended and served with grated orange zest which adds a lovely dash of colour and tang to the earthy sweetness of the beets. 

 

You can find the recipe here at The Kitchn.  I followed the recipe but used shallots instead of onion because that is what I had.  I’m happy to say there are containers of this soup in my freezer ready for the next time I foolishly head out in to the cold.

 

 

Carrot and Ginger Soup



Thanks to my daily commute in to London I am bombarded by cold germs through winter.  Sometimes it feels like every person on the train is coughing or sneezing.  This week it was me.  The healthy ones give the sickly ones a subtle look of derision.  Sizing each other up, should I sit next to you?  Are you going to cover your mouth when you cough?  Quite often, on packed trains there isn’t the luxury of choice.  You sit where you can or you stand.  Every time I have a cold, like the one I’m suffering with at the moment, I bust out this soup recipe.  It’s quick and easy to make when you can’t face much cooking.  Carrots are packed full of vitamin C and ginger is superb at easing congestion and mucus as well as being good for your digestive system.  This soup gives you a warm glow from the inside out, much like the ready brek kid. I’ve been making this soup for so many years I don’t know where the recipe came from.  I carry it around in my head.

Serves 1 (easily doubled, tripled etc.)

Olive oil for cooking

200g carrots, peeled, and chopped in to discs

1 shallot

250ml stock of your choice (I used gluten free chicken stock)

½ tablespoon fresh ginger peeled and finally chopped or grated.

In a saucepan sauté the shallot in olive oil for about 5 minutes until translucent.  Add the carrots and ginger and continue to sauté for another 5 minutes.  Once the ginger is becoming fragrant add the stock.  Place a lid on the pan and simmer for 10 minutes then remove the lid and simmer for another 5-10 minutes until the carrots are soft.  Turn off the heat and allow the soup to cool slightly.  Once cool enough pour the soup in to a blender and blend until smooth.  Return the soup to the pan and reheat until piping hot.  Serve in your favourite bowl with toasted gluten free bread.

 

Autumn This and That

I spotted Christmas cards in Marks and Spencer back in September, now some shops are playing Christmas music.  I’m not down on Christmas, I’d just like a little more autumn first before I contemplate winter full on.  Is that too much to ask?  A few things I’ve liked this autumn...

Carpet of leaves.

Riot of colour, these leaves have sadly fallen to the ground now.

 

Porridge, I never tire of porridge or indeed pictures of it.  The perfect breakfast for cold days.

 

Roasting butternut squash...

 

Then making soup. I used this recipe

 

Banana bread is comfort food.  Sadly I burnt this gluten free olive oil banana bread with chocolate chunks.  It still tasted pretty good and now I have the perfect excuse to try again.  Watch this space...

 

Lunch when I'm too lazy to make an effort...almond butter slathered on gluten free toast with a hot mug of tea on a grey day.  Also I'm a little fond of my new striped napkin.  You'll be seeing it a lot.

 

Purposeful walking through autumn leaves in Jardin du Luxembourg with my favourite person in the world.

 

Kale season makes me happy.  I don’t mind if you find that a little odd.

 

You can use your kale in a green smoothie to start your day off right.

 

Building on my pear sauce obsession I ventured in to making apple sauce too.  Autumn has the best fruit.  Breakfast dessert (because breakfast deserves a second course)... plain yoghurt, apple sauce and quinoa pops. Divine. 

 

Happy Autumn x

 

 

Soup by candlelight

I made this soup in the dark.  Not because I’m weird... although I am a little weird... no comment.  I made this soup in the dark because we had a power cut.  I made this soup in the dark because I walked home from the train station after work in the pouring rain.  I entered the house which was empty because my husband was working late.  I removed my soaking shoes and clothes.  I was about to step in to the lovely hot shower I had been dreaming about all the way home and bam, power cut.  Me naked, alone, pitch black.  I froze, I waited, nothing happened.  Somehow I didn’t panic.  I suddenly went all stiff upper lip and began organising myself.  Dressing gown was found and thrown on, slippers were put on back to front, down the stairs I went only bashing in to the wall once.  I peered out the window, the street was dark.  Not just me then.  Matches were found, just two left gah.  We both kept saying we must buy matches but we never did.  Ok, torch was found, candles were located.  One candle successfully lit, one match left.  Bits of card board were lit from the candle to light other candles, small fires almost happened.  It was a fun time.  Foremost on my mind was food.  I scoured the cupboards with the torch but nothing easy jumped out at me.  Then I remembered making this soup at the weekend (when I luckily took some pictures).  I had all the ingredients so I thought why not.  Surely I can do this in the dark.  To cut an already too long story short I did.  It was a mean feat of planning and organising and I didn’t burn the house down.  Thank goodness we have a gas oven, although it would help if the lighter worked and I didn’t have to use matches.  As I was contemplating sitting down to my bowl of soup the power came back on.  A small part of me was slightly disappointed, only because I thought I wouldn’t need to wash up.  But within minutes I had the lap top switched on grateful that I didn’t have to spend the rest of the evening alone in the dark, it is kind of boring on your own.

This soup was inspired by this recipe from Molly Wizenburg of Orangette.  It’s simple and warming.  I used gluten free pasta instead of pearl barley which contains gluten.  Just cook your favourite gluten free pasta according to the pack instructions and stir in to your soup before serving.  I also used fennel and kale instead of celery and cabbage just because that’s what I had to hand.  You can reduce the amount significantly depending on how many you are feeding.  You definitely don’t need to wait for a power cut to make it.