rose petal jam

Tricked!

After our trip to the oriental supermarket I had in mind to use up some of the things I bought for last night's dinner in a different way.

I decided to make a thai chicken noodle broth. I had some organic chicken drumsticks in the freezer which needed eating up and I thought poaching them and shredding them in soup would be great and also I could use up some more of the greens we bought to go with last night's dinner and a piece of ginger that was starting to look a little fatigued. My recent store cupboard clear out had revealed thai fish sauce and minced lemon grass in a squeezy tube so it was all there to be used.

I was so bewitched by the chillis we bought. They are so beautiful as you can see and I was marvelling at their perfection - each one seemed like a supermodel of a chilli, slim, perfectly shaped, glossy.

But these little red bullets were tricksy! Now, I always taste a little bit of any fresh chilli I buy to gauge the heat as it varies so much even if you are buying the same kind from the same supplier. Nervously, as these are small and thai, I placed a little bit on my tongue and waited for the tingle. It did tingle, but not vastly so I put four of the little monkeys into the wet and dry grinder, along with the fresh ginger and the garlic.

Later on as the chicken was simmering away in it's fragrant broth, I finely sliced more chillis, about four I think, along with the holy basil, coriander and the spring onions.

When the time came, I took the chopping board over to the pan and scrapped the chillis and the onions into the broth. A small sliver of red chilli remained behind so I popped it into my mouth. Oh my.

The chilli was a real scorcher. Now, I am quite accustomed to chilli, you can't live with dear Dom for 10 years and not be - he's a really chilli addict and they, and various chilli sauces find their way into many dishes in this house. Including things where they really SHOULDN'T be but don't get me started on that. But this one was... well, shall we say beyond uncomfortable? And I had put about eight of them into my soup! The milder one I tasted initially was laughing at me from the broth along with it's seven sizzling sisters!

Well I thought, at least Dom will be happy!

I continued to make the soup and called the boy through for lunch, steeling myself and my taste buds for the assault to come.

Even he admitted it was VERY hot soup and we both had to blow our noses several times whilst eating it. But it was so hot it was funny and actually despite that was really delicious. We sort of smiled and laughed and slurped and gasped our way through it. My eyes even watered at one point and Dom had a few coughs as it hit the back of his throat, over and over again!

I won't give the recipe dear reader for fear of doing you an injury. But if any hardened chilli fans wants to leave me a post and request I will email you the details.

And joy of joys, there is more left over to have for tomorrow's lunch at work. I must remember to take some tissues...

For Janice

This is for Janice who read my facebook status the other day when I made this and requested it for the blog.

Cauliflower Cheese Soup

I know that this soup doesn't LOOK exciting, but it really does taste great! Anyhow, I am a fan of 'white' food, pasta, mashed potato, risotto, need I say more? Colour in food is all well and good, but pale and soothing food can be wonderful.

Cauliflower cheese is lovely but I am trying to shift a few pounds, pre Christmas so that I can wear this dress and look super girly lovely! So, I have invented this soup that has all of the taste and a fraction of the fat and calories. Losing weight was never so much fun!

Serves 4

One medium cauliflower cut into florets
Two shallots, chopped fairly small
About a litre or so of vegetable stock
Two medium potatoes, diced into chunks
A matchbox sized piece of parmesan, finely grated

Put shallots into a pan and add enough stock to cover. Simmer for 10 mins until softened
Add the potatoes and add enough stock to cover. Cook for 8 mins
Then add the florets of cauliflower and more stock and cook for a further 6 mins.
Remove from heat and blitz with a handblender so that soup is a fairly liquidised but still has texture
Stir in the grated cheese.

If the soup is too thick for your taste, just thin out with more hot stock.

Lovely with some granary bread and a feeling of smug virtuosity :-)

the witching hour is upon us...

Look at this wee chap! isn't he lovely? Admittedly not very scary but that was the brief given to Dominic, a pumpkin that I could smile with! Unfortunately we have no windowsill deep enough to display him in, so he sits, smiling away at me from the hearth. Aww!

And not to let his insides go to waste (heaven forbid), here is a lovely autumn soup, with a bit of a kick...

Pumpkin, Sage, Pancetta and Chilli soup

Ok, I know, too much sage and pancetta recently! But I LOVE the combination, so really I am not making any apology for it. And I'll stop soon I promise :-) And if you are with me on this one, please check out the latest entry from the gorgeous Cherry Menlove

Serves 4

The inside of a medium pumpkin, diced
a red onion, chopped
15 (or so!) sage leaves
1/2 tsp chillli flakes
2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
500ml vegetable or chicken stock
3 slices of pancetta, snipped up into smallish strips

Fry off over a gentle heat the pancetta, onion, sage, chilli and garlic in some olive oil for about 5 mins untl soften and frangrant.

Add the pumpkin and cook over a slow heat for about 2-3 mins.

Add the stock, bring to the boil and then simmer for 15 mins.

Blitz with a hand blender until smooth but with some texture.

Serve with a smile.

For Rebecca

Dedication: This new soup recipe is for lovely Rebecca, who is vegetarian. As an ex vegetarian I know only too well that many food magazines, programmes and blogs have far too little on offer for those who don't eat meat. (Although now I am back on the meaty stuff I have to say I think you're all slightly bonkers but there you go, nowt worse than an ex veggie!)

Anyone who knows me knows that soup is one of my things. I tend to make it much more in autumn and winter as it makes such a great lunch to take to work etc or for weekend lunches and keeps you nice and warm inside on cold wet days. Bizarrely, I never usually make soup when having friends over for dinner. In fact I can’t remember the last time I made soup as a starter. And I never order it in restaurants as a starter, but will happily order it for lunch. Hmmm…

There is a great new café in Newcastle called Supe which does really excellent fresh soups using seasonal and local ingredients. Unfortunately they seem not to have a website but if you are in the area, it’s on Pilgrim Street, near the Tyneside Cinema and is run by two nice young chaps who have lots of energy and passion for food and for offering healthy and delicious alternatives to the usual café stuff you find.

Anyhow, I digress. I am writing today to introduce my latest soup recipe, which is a summer soup for a change. And so nice, I might even do it as a starter at my next dinner party.

We are getting a lot of courgettes at the moment from Mark & Helen's allotment – delicious and tender, they are perfect for this recipe. I’m really into mint at the moment so that had to go in too and it makes it extra summery. Ladies and gentlemen, may I present…

Courgette, Feta & Mint Soup

Serves two, generously

4 medium sized courgettes or equivalent
1/3 supermarket sized pack of feta cheese
1 medium potato
1 pint vegetable stock (fresh or cubes)
20or so mint leaves
2 small cloves of garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
Pinch of salt

Chop the vegetables up into 2 cm chunks and dice the garlic into little bits. Fry off on a medium heat for about 5 mins until the courgettes are softened and the veggies have a little colour (golden rather than brown).

Add the stock and the salt and cook until the potato seems tender, about 15 mins. Add the feta, crumbled up and the mint leaves. Cook for a further 30 seconds then remove from the heat.

Using a hand blender whiz until smooth (or use a jug blender if you have one). It turns a really lovely light yellowish green and has a soft, silky texture.

Serve with a small sprig of fresh mint. If you were doing for a dinner party and trying to be posh, and if you knew a way of procuring them, a deep-fried courgette flower would look fantastic. (Can you tell I have been watching Jamie again?!)

I am really pleased with this soup; it is so simple, with just 5 main ingredients and takes just 20 minutes from chopping board to bowl.