As i ambled down towards our vegetable patch yesterday morning,between my lettuce and strawberries, a sweet small brown fluffy rabbit gazed his big glossy browns towards me then quickly span round on his hind legs and hopped off towards the hedge - this was not done at any speed, in fact I'm sure the rabbit even stopped, got his breath back then set off again on his short journey towards the under growth. It was'nt until i reached my newly sprouted salad leaves and spring onions that i found out why. I looked down and saw what can only be described as vegetable carnage, at first all i could do was to grieve over the loss of my produce and over the blood sweat and tears that we had put into cultivating and preparing the ground. This disheartened feeling soon turned into rage and anger all aimed at an animal which ten mins prior i had thought was quite cute.
Over the last two days we have been relentlessly turning our veg patch into a rabbit Alcatraz, and with the loss of some of our goods we decided to make our patch half as big again, this led to more back breaking work that some how becomes obsessive, there are no breaks, no stopping for a beverage just pure constant hard work that we know eventually will pay off when we are laden full with our own produce.
However when applying the finishing touches to my newly created herb garden i feel a small tickle at the back of my throat and my muscles beginning to twinge and ache with every small movement.
I'm not one to complain ( much, anyway) so i finished off all the chores i had set myself before thinking about how i could conjure up a way to make myself instantly better .
I decided that when a cold starts to kick in, soup is a proven healthy and quick fix remedy. Fortunately only days earlier i had seen a recipe that i had been longing to try and this was the perfect opportunity - Green Lentil and Vegetable Soup.
I knew this would less than impress R, the fact that the title included the word lentil was enough for him to instantly dismiss it ( i think he has the old fashion views that lentils are only for tree huggers and for people that like to walk around with bare feet) . I was undeterred, in any case it was to make me feel better not just to feed him.
Ill be the first to accept it isn't the most inviting looking of all the soups around but it is a hardy contender in the taste department. It has an alluring aroma of fresh thyme that draws you in and almost a meaty consistency which makes it a very hearty meal - fantastic for the dreary winter months but equally suitable for a brisk spring day.
As i knew, temptation got the better of R and he delved a spoon into the broth - like soup, i secretly hoped i would completely change his mind set and he would suddenly become a lover of the plump green discs, i nervously sat in the next room awaiting his opinion - ' Nah, its not for me babe - see you later ' he said before he quickly scarpered out the door not waiting around to see my sullen expression, oh well i suppose he could of said worse.
Green Lentil and Vegetable Soup
Olive / Rapeseed oil
1 large onion red or white chopped
2 leeks washed and sliced
1 clove of garlic, chopped
2 carrots, diced
2 sticks of celery, diced
A few sprigs of fresh thyme
Cumin
Around 2 pints of chicken or veg stock
A tablespoon of tomato puree
Salt
Pepper
Splash of red wine vinegar
Heat some oil in a large pan and add the onions, leeks, thyme leaves, and the garlic, allow to sweat down on a medium heat for around 15 minutes.
Put the lentils in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water allow to soften for 15 minutes just to start off the cooking process.
Add the carrots, celery, stock, tomato puree, a sprinkle of cumin, the lentils and season with salt and pepper.
Bring to the boil then simmer for a hour.
Carefully add a small splash of red wine vinegar at the end of cooking ( to taste)
Please don't be put off by the colour, it really is delicious.
Over the last two days we have been relentlessly turning our veg patch into a rabbit Alcatraz, and with the loss of some of our goods we decided to make our patch half as big again, this led to more back breaking work that some how becomes obsessive, there are no breaks, no stopping for a beverage just pure constant hard work that we know eventually will pay off when we are laden full with our own produce.
However when applying the finishing touches to my newly created herb garden i feel a small tickle at the back of my throat and my muscles beginning to twinge and ache with every small movement.
I'm not one to complain ( much, anyway) so i finished off all the chores i had set myself before thinking about how i could conjure up a way to make myself instantly better .
I decided that when a cold starts to kick in, soup is a proven healthy and quick fix remedy. Fortunately only days earlier i had seen a recipe that i had been longing to try and this was the perfect opportunity - Green Lentil and Vegetable Soup.
I knew this would less than impress R, the fact that the title included the word lentil was enough for him to instantly dismiss it ( i think he has the old fashion views that lentils are only for tree huggers and for people that like to walk around with bare feet) . I was undeterred, in any case it was to make me feel better not just to feed him.
Ill be the first to accept it isn't the most inviting looking of all the soups around but it is a hardy contender in the taste department. It has an alluring aroma of fresh thyme that draws you in and almost a meaty consistency which makes it a very hearty meal - fantastic for the dreary winter months but equally suitable for a brisk spring day.
As i knew, temptation got the better of R and he delved a spoon into the broth - like soup, i secretly hoped i would completely change his mind set and he would suddenly become a lover of the plump green discs, i nervously sat in the next room awaiting his opinion - ' Nah, its not for me babe - see you later ' he said before he quickly scarpered out the door not waiting around to see my sullen expression, oh well i suppose he could of said worse.
Green Lentil and Vegetable Soup
Olive / Rapeseed oil
1 large onion red or white chopped
2 leeks washed and sliced
1 clove of garlic, chopped
2 carrots, diced
2 sticks of celery, diced
A few sprigs of fresh thyme
Cumin
Around 2 pints of chicken or veg stock
A tablespoon of tomato puree
Salt
Pepper
Splash of red wine vinegar
Heat some oil in a large pan and add the onions, leeks, thyme leaves, and the garlic, allow to sweat down on a medium heat for around 15 minutes.
Put the lentils in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water allow to soften for 15 minutes just to start off the cooking process.
Add the carrots, celery, stock, tomato puree, a sprinkle of cumin, the lentils and season with salt and pepper.
Bring to the boil then simmer for a hour.
Carefully add a small splash of red wine vinegar at the end of cooking ( to taste)
Please don't be put off by the colour, it really is delicious.
No comments:
Post a Comment