Spicy red pepper & bean SOUP

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Hi folks!!!How are you coping with the weather this time of the year?Have you had any snow yet?There is no sign of snow in Tamworth but is soooooo COLD!5C is like super, terribly cold,right?When I go out,all wrapped up,armed with a wool scarf,thick pair of gloves and furry earmuffs,it makes me think how I survived living in Poland for 20 years.Some winters temperature dropped even to -30C.-30!!!!!It didn’t matter how cold it was I would still have to march to school even if it meant walking through enormous snow drifts!It was fun!The snow was such a natural feature every winter, that I never heard people moaning about it.It was winter,it snowed and everyone thought it was normal.All the kids from the neighbourhood would be sliding from the hills on wooden sledges for hours.I mean like all day,every day.School,sliding,sleep…..repeat.We would get soaked,dash home,get change and slide again.Try to force me to poke my nose through the door now when is 5C….you have to be very convincing! 🙂

How not to love soups in this weather?It’s like a hug in a bowl.Last year this amazing soup was my favourite and I will always go back to that recipe.This year I made it’s devil sister-spicy,flavoursome and super nutritious red pepper & bean soup.It soooo damn good!I’ll be making it until Spring shows it’s face 🙂

 

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RECIPE:

serves 8

INGREDIENTS:

2-3 tablespoons rapeseed oil
2 onions,peeled and cut into wedges
4 garlic cloves,peeled and sliced
1 chilli pepper(medium hot),chopped
3 carrots(2 if you use carrot from home made stock),sliced
2 red peppers,chopped
5 celery sticks(3 if you use celery stick from home made stock),chopped
6 cups (1.5 litre)vegetable stock
1 3/4 cups (300g) raw kidney beans,soaked overnight and cooked – it gives 4 3/4-5 cups (700g) cooked beans
7/8 cups (200g) tomato puree
sea salt and black pepper

STOCK:

6 cups (1.5 litre) water
1/3 (200g) celeriac root (medium sized)
2 celery sticks
1 big carrot
1 big parsnip
1 big onion

METHOD:

1.Wash the vegetables for the stock,place all the ingredients(except onion) in a medium pan and cover with water.Cut the onion in half and brown it lightly over the open fire over the hob.Place it in the pan.Bring it all to boil and let it simmer for around 30-40 minutes until all vegetables are soft.Sieve it, putting the veg aside.(You can use carrot and celery stick in this recipe-if you wish you can use all vegetables from this stock really).

2.In the meantime,heat oil in a large saucepan,add onion,garlic and chilli pepper and fry for few minutes until soft.

3.Add raw carrots and celery and fry for 5 minutes.Now add peppers and cook for couple of minutes.

4.Stir in vegetable stock and tomato puree.Season with salt and pepper.Bring to boil and cook for 20 minutes

5.Add beans(and chopped celery and carrot from home made stock)and cook for further 5-10 minutes until the vegetables are soft.

6.Serve with fresh parsley.

Enjoy xxx
Bea

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apple pie porridge

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Of course I wasn’t going to come down with any nasty flu or cold this year..No way!Me and my buddy-vitamin C have been hanging out together since the summer finished.Since I know that you can never overdose on vitamin C, here I was drinking fresh orange juice in the morning, eating grapefruit with lunch,adding kiwi to salads and sipping hot lemon water all day long.I’ve been literally wired on lemon.I’ve also been eating spoonfuls of raw honey,pouring it into everything  and throwing handfuls of garlic into soups, stews and casseroles.Armed with all my natural antibiotics I knew I would sail through the Autumn and Winter as fit as a fiddle.There was one think I didn’t take into account-mutated man flu germs.Yes!Darek fell ill last week and was so generous he decided to share his germs with me.(Thanks darling!)I haven’t been poorly for a long time but I’m sure of one thing-Being ill sucks!

We’ve been living on a porridge for nearly a week and it’s when this recipe came handy.Apple pie porridge?Well, anything teamed up with apples,cinnamon and honey taste like apple pie,doesn’t it?

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RECIPE:

serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

110g (1 1/4 cups) organic Scottish rolled oats(or your favourite)
300ml (1 1/4 cups) organic milk(any)
2 apples,peeled,cored and chopped
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons honey

PREPARATION:

1.Place the oats in a saucepan and cover with milk.Bring it to a slow boil and simmer,stirring it all the time until it begins to thicken(around 5-7 minutes). If you prefer it runnier you may add more milk.

2.Place chopped apples in a different saucepan,add cinnamon and honey and cook until the apples are soft(around 5 minutes), stirring it from time to time.

3.Divide porridge between bowls and top up with apples or mix the apples in.Serve with nuts or raisins if you like.

 

NOTE:You can prepare this breakfast the night before,as it will thicken in a fridge, add 100ml (around 1/3 cups) milk and warm it up in a saucepan.

Enjoy x