It’s soup time again. Here’s a hearty one I often make whilst courgettes are still around. Mind you, with my neighbour’s fig tree still fruiting, this may soon apply all year… This makes enough for three to four meal-sized servings. You will need:

1 large onion, peeled, halved and then very thinly sliced
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
2 sticks of celery, washed and sliced
2 large or 3 small courgettes, washed, topped and tailed
1 clove of garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
6-8 medium to large mushrooms (chestnut have a good flavour), washed and wiped
500 ml hot vegetable stock, such as Bouillon
1 small (150g) can of cannellini beans
1 400g can of chopped tomatoes
Sundried tomato paste
Dollop of good quality pesto sauce (optional)

This recipe comes from guest contributor Vicky Townshend, who says:

This is one of those concoctions that we refer to in my family as "According-to-my-sorts-as-I-sinks". This means that the component parts are put into the mix ad lib, depending on both the availability of ingredients and the passing fancy of the cook.

For the sake of completeness, I have included measurements sufficient to make about one litre of soup but please feel free to ignore these and do your own thing. The finished product usually turns out just fine.

Pumpkins and squashes look lovely, but can also be a bit intimidating to the uninitiated. Here’s a warming recipe that’s simple to make, and at the end are suggestions about what to do with the rest of the brute.

For each person you will need:

It’s soup time again and this year we seem to have a bumper crop of chillies.  Whilst they vastly outnumber our feeble courgette crop, I wouldn’t recommend using them in that ratio.  This is quick and easy; just remember the rubber gloves for preparing the chilli. 

For each person you will need:

With the resident fish refusenik off out, time to experiment – thought it worked out quite well.  Let me know what you think.

For each person you will need:

This should chase away the last signs of Winter

This is good for a cold day and quick to make.