It is getting to the time of year when I like to make (and eat) soup. Mind you, it is so sunny and mild outside today, I feel a bit of a fraud saying that!
I decided yesterday to make a pan of my favourite "healthy, tasty, warming" soup - Lentil & Carrot - but I ran out of time (and energy) having made a batch of granola, cooked a roast dinner, done some shopping, taken Mum home etc. etc.
So this morning, I got into gear. The lentil and carrot soup is SO easy.
Chop a large onion, 2 sticks of celery, 2 carrots into a pan - saute in a little olive oil for about 15 minutes. Don't forget to drop in the leaves from the top of the celery (assuming that you don't buy those soul-less neat little packages of celery hearts).
Rinse about a mug ful of red lentils in cold water. Add to the pan. Top up with approximately 1 litre of veg stock and simmer until the lentils are cooked and the veggies are soft. If you think it's getting a bit dry during cooking add a splash of water. Season with pepper. Blitz with a stick blender until you get the consistency you like. My preference is for the odd chunk of veg to be left in.
This freezes ok, too.
So, whilst cooking the soup, I remembered having some left over (cooked) cauliflower in the fridge from yesterday. Being a Martha and not a Maxine (I will clarify that on a later blog) I keep this sort of stuff! I decided to make a cauliflower and cheddar soup out of that - just one portion, for me, for lunch. I chopped half an onion, 2 small new potatoes and 1 stick of celery into a pan. Sauteed in a little oil. Added the cooked cauli and about a pint (maybe just under) of veg stock. Simmered until all the veg was soft. Blitzed it up with a dash of double cream (also left over from yesterday) and decided that this was just SO good it did not need the cheddar adding.
I think I'll "plan" to have left over veggies every Sunday in future. A bit of stock and a tiny splash of cream can transform them in to the most wonderful soup.
And finally, while I was in the kitchen, I decided to try out my new silicone cupcake cups! I had a recipe from a supermarket magazine for Carrot Cupcakes. They are very tasty indeed - I've eaten one, and plan to freeze the rest for an easy "on the run" breakfast. And fairly healthy - they are made with wholemeal flour, raisins, carrots, apricots, seeds. I guess the bad bit is the sugar and to be honest, you could easily halve the amount and still have a great tasting muffin.
