Roasting Soup (by sarah)

Ok I bought lots of veg for a nice roast but with Jeans inpromptu hospital trip etc... it didnt really happen so I had stuff left over therefore I souped it! It was tasty too Al really liked it 🙂

*1/3 celeriack *1/3 swede *2 medium potatoes *1/2 butternut squash *3 salsify *1 couguette *2 large cloves of garlick *Black pepper *1 tbl spoon fennel seeds *pumpkin seed oil

I had par boiled alot of it all ready to roast and put in the left over roast veg (these had been roasted in sunflower oil with rosemarry and pepper). I had also kept the water a veg stock which I then boiled everything up in that hadnt yet been par boiled - these were the potatoes (for some reason there are never any roasted potatoes left after the meals reguardless of how many I cook?), butternut and courgette.

Then we blend the whole lot! Bzzzzzzzzzz

Into the suacepan about a quarter of it went, along with the garlick crushed and fennel seeds - also crushed. I also drisseled about 1/2 a tbl spoon of pumpkin seed oil into it and ground some pepper in (using our phallic pepper grinder from an Italian restruant!), add the fennel seeds and away we go!

Oh and don't forget to add a pint of milk - I use a 50:50 mix of semi skimed goats and skimed cows milk but thats cos of special dietry recurrements and should be fine what ever you use - it would probably be tasty just with a pint of veg stock instead!

Gentle heat until the odd bubble starts to appear, try not to let boil! This allows the garlick and fennel to permeate the soup properlly 🙂

I had it on the heat for about 1/2 hr.

Be warned me and Al have had this two days in a row and I have frozen enough (without garlick, fennel and milk) to feed 6 a thick soup and 10 a thickish soup!

Jean also loves this but she had it mixed with mash potatoe:)

Asperagus Soup (by sarah)

Babara (Al's aunt) gave us some of her asperagus which grows in abundence in the garden - I was about enough to serve steamed as a starter for one and a half people so i decided to soup it!

I boiled it up then poured it and and the boiling water into the blender, adding a veggi stock cube and a paint of milk (goats milk becuase thats what I had in the fridge at the time). I then cheated and use dried chopped garlic - about a tea spoon fall and crushed fennel seeeds, again about 1 teaspoon fall to flavour it with. It was however a thin insubstantial soup so out came the corn flour and a a rapid thickening of the soup.

It was lovely and filling and as always I had accidently made enough for four people - oh well Jean loves it to which is good as shes getting it again tomorrow!

Dandilion Tea (by sarah)

The tea appears to be working, mum even took Jean for a couple of walks up and down the drive which with gout should have been too painful. Then she decided she wouldnt drink anymore becuase it made her need the loo (somethingt dad suffered too but me and didnt?) as a result the next day she was in lots of pain 🙁 from her gout flaring up becuase she hadnt drunk the tea (edit to make things clear).

I found that the best tasting brew was created by chopping the dried roots up but leaving the eaves whole. The leaves were dried too. I put the eqivalent of a 5cm long by 5mm(sorry about the units) diameter root into a tea pot per person. This is 2/3rds of the mix the remaining third being the leaves.

It needs quiet alot of breing/steeping so a tea cosy is useful (I have a rasterfarian looking one that Als aunt gave us - I love it!) honey is also good as a sweetner in it. I only served small coffee cups of the stuff.

I now have awaiting list for the stuff!

I suppose I'd best dig up a lot more dandilions!

How far will one dish stretch? (by sarah)

I decided to make a huge rat-a-toeey so in went the six tins of chopped tomartoes, four cloves of garlic, four large oinions, four cougettes, an aubergine, two peppers and half a bottle of tomatoe suace. Slow cookers are so handy 🙂

Then I thought well I can use this as a base of other dishes instead of freezing it and lo!

First of all we were going to have tacos so in went in some of the rat-a into a frying pan followed by some canallini beans and a tin of re-fried beans. Add some fajita seasoning and away we go!!! This was tasty and was great cold the next day as an accompaniment to salad.

Second, I served it actually as ratatoee with some rice.

Third, I used it as a base for pasta bake - now I was also planning on turning it into a soup but we've had lots of guests including Als cousin Phillipa and her boyfriend and my mum and dad - so I sort of run out!

Radishes (by sarah)

Becca Radishes are mainly a salad thing.

All eats them by themselves but they can have a strong peppery taste so I would advise that you get some nice greens for a salad, like rocket, lettice maybe some cuccumber and peppers to eat with them.

You should wash them then 'top and tail' them - this means you cut off the spindle hair-like root bit and the bit where the leaves attach. Then you can leave whole or slice or if you are feeling really adventurous then you can cut a zing zag around the 'equator' of the radish creating to 'flowers' from the radish - my dad used to do this for my lunch all the time - places on a slice of cucumber it becomes a water lilly!

Dads other 'peice-de-la-resistonce' is where you slice half way into the radish and then 'wrap' the knife around it in a spiral as you go. Then place the radish which should still appear whole, into a glass of water where a) it will end up with amilder taste and b) the radish will open up into a lovely spiral.

Do not top and tail until just before eating as they can shrivel not being shop bough ones injected with water!

Hope that was helpful

I think the Japanese may do lots of other things with radishes but then they have lots of types of radish!