Sunday 26 October 2014

?????

I was researching soup recipes on the internet.  OK, maybe 'researching' is slightly misleading.  I was looking for recipes!  

I looked up one and the first ingredient was 'one can of vegetable soup'!  What????????????????????

NOT one to try!

Saturday 25 October 2014

Spiced carrot and lentil soup

Found this on the BBC food site (great place), adapted it somewhat for Thermione and my trusted and tried soup method and it's delicious.  Warming and filling.

Spiced carrot and lentil soup

1 - 2 tbsp curry paste ( used Patak's korma paste and it was a heaped serving spoonful)
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped (or fresh soup mix veg, which is what I used, 200g of it)
a bit of soft butter
140g red lentils
1l hot vegetable stock (water and veg stock pot)

Method
Put the veg and the butter in the bowl.  Reverse mix to coat the veg in the butter.  Saute on 100, reverse speed 2 for 8 mins
Add the curry paste, reverse mix briefly and saute again as above for 4 mins

Add the lentils, the stockpots and the boiling water.
Cook on 100 for 20 mins, speed 2/3

Allow to cool slightly, then zizz on 10 for around a minute.  If too thick for your taste, top up a bit with boiling water.


Serve with a blob of natural yogurt.

Lentil, chicken and veg soup

I'm making this a new entry because it's delicious although a very, very simple addition to my last entry.

Make the carrot, sweet potato and lentil soup as below.  

Then add some frozen mixed veg and some chopped chicken.  I used uncooked chicken but it would be an ideal way to use those little bits that come off when you have boiled a chicken carcass.  Amounts are to your own taste really but if you think of those plastic takeaway containers, I used a containerful of veg and the equivalent of one small chicken breast but I had already consumed some of the soup.

I just boiled it all up on 100, reverse speed 2 (reverse speed is important or it will all just mush up) until the veg was cooked (the chopped chicken took only minutes to cook, of course).  That's all!

Looking forward to lunch now!


Here's the original recipe again:

Ingredients:
two carrots, peeled and chopped
one small sweet potato, peeled and chopped.
about 1/4 of a bag of fresh soup mix veg (Morrisons - still brill value)
soft butter
2 knorr veg stock pots
a good pinch of mixed, dried herbs
a grinding of pepper
four tbsp red lentils
boiling water

Method:
Put the vegetables in the bowl and add the butter.
Mix on 4, reverse speed 4 for about 5 seconds

saute on 100, reverse speed 2 for 10 minutes, pushing down the sides if needed

Add the remaining ingredients with enough boiling water to reach the 2 litre mark

Cook on 100, speed 2, 20 mins.
Allow to cool for a short time, then zizz on 10 for about a minute.

This doesn't make a very thick soup, it makes a more fluid, totally delicious and filling soup.

Carrot, sweet potato and lentil soup

Another variation on a theme.  Thermione based but, as always, easy enough to do on the hob, just not as trouble free as in the Thermomix.

I had two manky carrots, one shrivelling sweet potato and a bag of fresh soup mix veg.  I always have lentils in the cupboard.
This is what I did.

Ingredients:
two carrots, peeled and chopped
one small sweet potato, peeled and chopped.
about 1/4 of a bag of fresh soup mix veg (Morrisons - still brill value)
soft butter
2 knorr veg stock pots
a good pinch of mixed, dried herbs
a grinding of pepper
four tbsp red lentils
boiling water

Method:
Put the vegetables in the bowl and add the butter.
Mix on 4, reverse speed 4 for about 5 seconds

saute on 100, reverse speed 2 for 10 minutes, pushing down the sides if needed

Add the remaining ingredients with enough boiling water to reach the 2 litre mark

Cook on 100, speed 2, 20 mins.
Allow to cool for a short time, then zizz on 10 for about a minute.

This doesn't make a very thick soup, it makes a more fluid, totally delicious and filling soup.  If you want it thicker, don't add so much water.

I had some for lunch yesterday and will be having more today.  I'm going to add some frozen mixed veg and cook it a bit more in Thermione for a chunkier effect.  I might add some bits of chicken that I have in the freezer.  Some shredded ham would be lovely, if I had some, or Morrison's sell cold meat 'bits' very reasonably - some of that would also lift it to full meal status.

Lucky I like soup, isn't it, especially adaptable soups like this?


Friday 24 October 2014

Info

Just to let you all know, Blogger seems to have reinstated the security thing on my blog.  No idea why but never mind, it is nice not to have to delete stuff in the Spam folder every day.

Sunday 19 October 2014

Potato and leek soup: Thermomix and frugal

As always, can be made the conventional way too!

Yet another . . . basically the same method, made with bits and bobs.  I had four little pots of home grown leek bits in the freezer, from when I did Live Below The Line.  As I am trying to get some logic and system into my freezers, I was going to throw them out but then had a little think.
I used Morrison's Value canned potatoes because I had them, they're frugal and the 'fresh' ones I had in the fridge were far from.  They are now being recycled!  The remaining canned spuds will be roasted (oh, OK, possibly fried and as I'm having bacon for breakfast, I guess they can fry or roast in the bacon fat which will be scrummy) for dinner.
The amounts can be variable - it almost always is in soup, isn't it?

So - here it is

Ingredients:
Some sliced leek - I would say I used around 1/4 of a leek all together - sliced.  You could use green bits for this, the bits that get chucked usually but which have such flavour.
a small onion, chopped
soft butter - a knob
1/4 tsp crushed garlic (I get this on jars from Morrisons - saves time and is great value)
half a can of potatoes, diced.
one Knorr vegetable stock pot
pepper
a good pinch mixed dried herbs
boiling water

Method.
Put the leek and onion in the bowl and add the butter and the garlic.  Give it a reverse zizz for a few seconds to coat the veg with the butter.  Then saute for 10 minutes on 100, reverse speed 1 or 2.

Add the potatoes, the stock pot, the pepper and herbs and top up to the 1 litre mark with boiling water.

Cook on 100, speed 2, 15 minutes.

Allow to cool slightly, then blend for about 30 seconds, increasing speed gradually until it is top speed.  It doesn't need any more than that.

You know what?  It has made a very tasty soup indeed - I've had the little bit that wouldn't fit into the freezer containers.  Nothing 'OTT special' but most acceptable.  Four portions of 250mls so enough for a good lunch for two probably with leftovers.


I'm going to price it out as much as I can.
The leeks were free (from the garden) so I can't price them out.
Butter:  about 10p
Onion:  about 5p (it was small)
Stock pot: 25p - the most expensive item in the whole recipe!
Crushed garlic:  about 4p
Potatoes:  8p for half the can
Dried herbs:  Neg so say 2p.  I bought a huge big bag of them for not a lot.
Pepper:  Not even trying to cost a few grindings - 0p
Total:  60p (not including leeks and rounded up), so 15p per portion.  Can't complain about that for something that is very tasty.  You could serve with a dash of milk or cream or some grated cheese - always delicious!

The reason why I portion in 250mls is simply that it's the size of my pots, full to the top with no air space and therefore space wastage.  It's fine for a school lunch with bread and butter and fruit or cake.

The negative is that I clear my freezer of four titchy pots of leek and end up with four larger pots to freeze instead.  :-)

Saturday 18 October 2014

Butterbean and veg soup: Thermomix and frugal

Another in my series of 'same but different'.

This is like the lentil and veg soup but with butterbeans instead and it is thick,  warming and extremely tasty.  Here we go - for Thermione as always but easily adapted to conventional methods.

The butterbeans I used were home cooked and frozen.  There were 270g's worth of butterbeans with a little of the cooking liquor to stop them drying out.

Ingredients:
half a bag of Morrison's veg soup mix (a mix of leek, swede, celery and carrot)
one smallish onion, chopped small.
a knob of soft butter
270g cooked butterbeans
2 knorr chicken stock pots
half tsp crushed garlic
boiling water
pepper (no salt - the stock is salty enough)
boiling water

Method
Put the veg and the chopped onion in the bowl with the chopped onion.  Add the knob of butter and zizz on reverse speed 2 or 3 to coat the veg in butter.

Saute on 100, reverse speed 2 or 3 for 10 mins, occasionally pushing down the sides of the bowl.

Add the garlic, butterbeans, pepper and enough boiling water to take it up to the 1.5 litre mark.
Cook on varoma heat, 20 mins, speed 2 or 3.

Allow to cool for a short time, then blend on top speed (get there gradually) for one minute, then reduce the speed gradually.  The soup should be thick, silky smooth and delicious.

Serve with grated cheese or a blob of cream or yogurt.  Delicious.

Oh, and it has made six 250 ml portions, so a good serving for four.

Monday 13 October 2014

Sweet potato and veg soup: Thermomix

Just like the last one really, with few changes.

Ingredients
3 smallish sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1/3 bag of Morrisons vegetable soup mix - the fresh kind that's about 67p per bay at the moment
1 medium onion peeled and chopped
40-ish g butter (soft)
2 knorr vegetable stock pots
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/2 to 1 tsp curry paste.  I used korma as that's what I had.
boiling water

Method.
Put the sweet potato, soup veg and onion in the bowl with the butter.

Reverse mix on 4 to coat the veg with the butter.  Then saute for 10 mins, 100, reverse speed 2 to 3

Add the remaining ingredients top up to 1.5 litres with boiling water.  Cook on Varoma heat for 20 mins, speed 2 to 3.

Allow to cool a bit, then blend at top speed for one minute.

The result is a silky smooth, tasty soup.

Sunday 12 October 2014

Lentil and vegetable soup

We are well into the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness now and a cook's thoughts turn to soups.  Thick, home made soups, silky smooth and filled with flavour and goodness.  Soup of the evening (or lunchtime).  Beautiful, beautiful soup.

So here's the first one of the season (apart from the best ever tomato soup I posted a short while ago). When I was unwell last week I bought a bag of 'soup mix' vegetables from Morrisons with expectation of making soup, but in the end I didn't.  It is just a bag of chopped carrot, leek, celery and swede - basically a great soup starter which the Hairy Bikers call 'the Holy Trinity' (without the swede).  It's actually quite a frugal thing to get in certain circumstances because to buy all the veg separately would cost a lot more so I reckon I'm going to be getting this particular time saver again.

It needed using up so this is what I did.  I used Thermione, of course, but it is easy to adapt it for hob cooking.

Ingredients:
about 2/3 of a bag of Morrisons vegetable soup mix
1 medium onion, chopped
50g (ish) soft butter
4 heaped tbsp lentils
1/2 tsp crushed garlic (from a jar)
2 Knorr vegetable stock pots
boiling water
I didn't add salt or pepper because the stock pots are well seasoned.

Method.
Place the vegetables, including the onion) in the bowl and add the butter.  Give a quick zizz on reverse spin speed 4 to coat the veg with the butter.

Saute the vegetables on 100, reverse speed 2, 10 minutes

Top up with boiling water to the 1.5l mark.  Add the lentils, the garlic and the stock pots.

Cook on Varoma, speed 4, 20 mins.

Allow to cool a bit before blending at top speed for a minute.

My goodness, for such a simple list of ingredients, it is a delicious soup.  I shall add a little cream and reheat to 90 before serving with bread and butter and maybe some grated cheddar on top.  A whole meal in a soup and I am hoping there will be enough for school lunches.

If you wanted it to be lower calorie, use less butter, but it does impart a wonderful flavour in the saute-ing process.

There's about a third of the bag of veg left and I also have some sweet potato and some butter beans for another soup.  I think I might get out my second Thermomix bowl and use it for the very first time ever!!  I'll let you know how that goes!

Sunday 5 October 2014

White bread (refined)

I've refined the ordinary white loaf recipe that I use week by week.  I nearly said 'my' recipe but, of course, it isn't.  It is from the gorgeous Mr Hollywood.  The additions are not original but they are 'mine' in that I didn't look them up anywhere or copy someone else's recipe.

Anyway, this is now what I use

500g strong white flour (or replace up to half of it with ordinary plain white flour for frugality as I often do).
a heaped tsp dried yeast (or one and a half tsps as dried yeast doesn't really 'heap')
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
25-30g butter
1 tbsp dried milk powder
315mls warm water

It makes a delicious, soft white loaf with a crusty outside.  I make it in the same way as always in Thermione.

Flour first, then all the other dry ingredients and the butter.
Blitz on 6 until butter is incorporated and everything is mixed well.
Add the water.
Blitz on 6 again until mix comes together.

Knead for ten minutes, then allow the dough to rise in the bowl.

Knead for 1 minute to knock back the dough, then remove, shape, prove and bake.  I make two loaves in one pound loaf tins.

Dead easy, better than bought and totally frugal!

Saturday 4 October 2014

Pear and cinnamon jam

A few weeks ago a friend gave me a big bag of pears from her garden.  They were lovely - sound and still very firm.  I lay them out and they have been slowly ripening as pears do.  I should have used them last weekend but between lack of time and not feeling wonderful, I didn't.

I looked up the spices that go well with pear and fancied cinnamon (I could have used cloves or ginger too).  This is what I did.

I peeled, cored and chopped the pears and placed them in a bit of water and lemon juice (from a bottle).  The lemon juice was not only for preventing browning but also to help with setting as pears, I gather, are low in pectin.  Each time I added more chopped pears I gave them a little stir to cover them with the lemon-water.

When they were all prepared, I added water until about half way up the pears, added a small stick of cinnamon and simmered it all until the pears were soft but not mushy.

I measured out the pear mixture and to each pint I added about 1lb of jam sugar, stirred it all well and allowed it to stand until the sugar had disolved completely.  I added a bit more lemon juice too, just to be on the safe side and also because it is a very sweet mixture.

Then into the fridge went the saucers, into the oven went the sterilised jars and onto the heat went the maslin pan.  It boiled away vigorously for about ten minutes or so and the first time I tested, it had reached setting point.  Quite a soft setting point but that's what I wanted, because the chunks of pear remained distinct, they didn't mush into the water at all.

I removed the cinnamon stick before pouring into jars and sealing.

Not terribly scientific, is it, but it seems to have worked and it tastes and smells wonderful.  I've never made jam with pears before so I wasn't at all sure but it worked!  I now have nine pots plus a little left over for my breakfast toast tomorrow morning (or maybe in a little while on my fresh made bread).

I think when I make it again I will use a little less sugar and see how that works.  It might also be nice if the pears are pureed.  Nice to have choices and alternatives.