Hello! Have you had a good week? It's been a tad disappointing weather wise, but it's been a productive and sociable week nonetheless. With three birthdays - Andy, his Mum, and my Dad - we've had a lot of family time that included a no-bake Malteser cheesecake, a Chinese take away, and several sirloin steaks.

I planted my hanging baskets. I waited weeks for my winter flowering pansies to stop looking so lovely and alive, so that I could declare them 'done'. I was finally able to do so this week, and turfed them out for some lovely trailing plants. I did love the pansies though and have decided to grow them from seed to plant in my hanging baskets in the autumn.

I made Elderflower gin. I can not wait to taste it in a few months time. I wanted to make some cordial and perhaps some elderflower delight too, but the recent wind and rain scuppered any chance of picking any decent flowers. I'll just have to wait and harvest the berries for more gin instead #everycloud

I voted

and I found a source of free books on my way home. The telephone box in our local village had been turned into an Info Box, and in it are a few shelves and a sign saying 'Please feel free to take a book', so I did. I'll return it, along with a few others, when I've finished reading it. I love that this sort of 'honesty box' mentality still exists, it really made me smile.

I ate an awful lot of lettuce. I planted too many seeds and now we have a more plants than we really know what to do with. I've given away one tray, and we're eating a huge amount of lettuce every lunchtime, and for supper too. Andy has had some for breakfast on a few occasions, I can't quite bring myself to do that. I love it, eating something I've grown myself feels like a little victory. I can't wait for the spring onions to be ready. And at least I'll know not to make the same mistake next year.

And now I'm looking forward to another Sunday cinema date with Andy, a craft and vintage market in my local town hall, trying a granola recipe, and indulging in some serious reading time.

What has been the highlight of your week?

Hello! I hope you've had a good week? I've been hampered by a bit of a cold, and I managed to get whacked in the eye by a bramble (yes, ouch) but those things aside it's been good.

Filling the house with flowers
I popped to Aldi and picked up two bunches of their bargain roses. I've had these before and they lasted three weeks! But instead of putting them in a large vase in the dining room, I popped them into three smaller vases and distributed them around the house. My favourite sits on my bedside table. This is something that needs to happen more often.


Mending
I've had three pairs of ripped jeans sitting in my wardrobe for ages waiting for me to mend them, an idle scroll through my Pinterest feed gave me an idea, and I went about cutting up one of Andy's old work shirts to patch them with.  I've still got one pair to repair but it feels good to have finally started on my mend pile.


Baking
I really enjoyed, not only baking but eating, my Lemon Thumbprint Cookies last week, and I wanted to make something else. A few very ripe bananas were perfect for this Banana Oatmeal Cookie recipe. They are so simple to make, and the kitchen smelled divine for hours after cooking. The cookies only lasted a fraction longer.

Breaking sunglasses
Some how I managed to break two pairs of sunglasses this week, one during the bramble incident, the other I have no idea. The frame snapped at the top meaning the lens fell out, both in the same place, on the same eye - spooky. Good job I did buy a new pair last month.

Hoping for rain
We've had no significant rainfall here for three months, and being married to an arable farmer it makes for frustrating times. We need rain. They all work so hard on the farm, all year round, and it's so frustrating that the success of the crops depend on the weather. So if you know of an effective rain dance, you know what you need to do...

Looking forward to...
A morning cinema date with my husband on Sunday, eating the first of my mixed lettuce leaves crop, planting out some more seeds in the greenhouse, and getting properly stuck into my latest read - Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey.

Have you had a good week?

Usually Photo An Hour lands on a day when I have no plans and spend the day reading, pottering and doing very little. But this month I had a blogger meet planned with Sophie and Kezzie for a charity shop rummage and a spot of lunch.

Sadly my phone battery died half way through the day but Kezzie kindly let me use her camera so I could continue to document the day until I got home and back to a charger.

Every time we get together for a charity shop rummage we all always find loads of stuff, I wonder if we encourage each other a little too much...?

7am - The day started as it usually does with a cat sleeping on my dressing gown, looking too cute to disturb. But I did - ha! (it was chilly).

8am - The usual rituals of getting ready for the day

9am - Breakfast of kings - snap, crackle and pop.

10am - Sophie arrived and we bundled in to my car to collect Kezzie from the station.


11am - A quick coffee in a rather sweet cafe in Ipswich - Applaud Coffee - after the one I was going to go to had shut down (this happened to me last time Sophie and Kezzie came to visit too). But I think I like this coffee shop better, so not such a bad stroke of luck after all.

12pm - We're all already a handful of purchases in. I bought a fab Laura Ashley midi skirt in here and the first of what would turn out to be many book purchases.

1pm - Fed and watered we venture on. We still had seven charity shops to rummage in.


2pm - Straining under the weight of our numerous bags. I had to buy a bag as I'd filled the one I'd taken with me.

3pm - Four charity shops still to explore...

4pm - I lost track of time about now but with all the shops visited we were in great need to a cuppa and a cake. Red velvet for me, Victoria sponge for Sophie and Kezzie.

5pm - Having left Kezzie at the train station, and deposited Sophie back to her car I was at home admiring all my purchases. Socks took an instant like to my new tote bag and slept on it for the next few hours.


6pm - I'm always shattered after a charity shop romp so a cuppa and a bit of a lay down was much needed.

7pm - Having bought 12 books, been given another two by Sophie, and remembering I'd purchased two others last week I thought I should crack on with reading my current book.

8pm - Popcorn appetiser. We didn't get around to the main course. I was asleep before 9pm.

A lovely, lovely day.

Thanks to Jane for hosting, it's always good fun taking part, and I really like looking back on these posts to see a day in detail.

Coveting Ego trainers

I don't wear trainers very often so I was surprised at how much I wanted to buy myself these gorgeous embroidered trainers after seeing them on Laura's blog. I immediately saw them teamed with summer dresses and my khaki dungarees. I'm so tempted, but if I do give in to temptation I'll have to wait until Frugal February is over, which might just be long enough to cool my desire...

Cooking

When I read Jennifer's post on cooking with leeks I knew I would be making the Creamy Squash Leek and Pancetta Pots sometime very soon.

Oh-my-goodness they are delicious. The recipe was for four people - enough for two nights for Andy and me. Having finished my first helping I could've easily tucked into a second, not because it wasn't satisfying, but because I was being a glutton. I resisted so that we could enjoy it re-heated the next day. I spent the entire day looking forward to it and we ended up much eating earlier than usual.

Filming

I downloaded the 1 Second Everyday app after seeing it on Oh Gosh. I decided to wait until something exciting happened before starting to film snippets of my day but with little on the horizon I decided to just start. Naturally the first clip is of the cats. On the second day the most exciting thing to happen was me curling my hair for the first time in ages, so that's clip no.2 (did I mention I had nothing exciting coming up?)

Maybe I'll share a full month when it rolls around? Or perhaps a week of clips would be enough. My goal is to film everyday, even the most mundane of snippets, to end up with a year of little memories. I'm so excited by the prospect of this!

Going sugar free

I have an allergy to sugar beet and in an effort to cure it I'm taking a homeopathic remedy for a week. This means I have to cut out sugar altogether. I'd been putting it off, knowing that it would be a pain as soooooo many things have sugar in. I'd decided that I needed to do some research, plan my meals in advance but I was procrastinating and in the end I decided to start and wing it.

So far, it's been OK. The Spag Bol I made last night wasn't as tasty as it could've been as I couldn't use stock or Worcestershire Sauce. My lunchtime cheese on toast has been left wanting after discovering I couldn't use my usual ketchup on it (thinking about it I might've been able to use tomato puree). So many surprising things have sugar added, it's been a real eye opener - I even have to be careful when it comes to bread. Bread!!

If I'd thought about it I would've weighed myself before I started to see what difference it made, but I don't own scales, so...

Living in chaos

We discovered that our central heating pipes where leaking under the floor in the lounge, so we've had the plumbers in digging up the concrete and scaring the living daylights out of the girl cat in order to sort out the issue.

The house has been in chaos for the best part of three days. We decided to replace all of the under floor pipes downstairs so carpets have been pulled up, furniture bundle out of the way, they've needed to take up floorboards upstairs in most rooms. Only our bedroom has remained intact although it has been filled with bits of furniture and odds and ends from other rooms.

I've been hiding in my bedroom reading, and scrolling through Instagram and Pinterest.

I'm glad to say it's now sorted, order has been restored. Now I just need to get rid of the thin film of dust that now covers everything we own. It's so true that you don't appreciate what you've got til it's gone. Boy! I missed my usual peace and quiet.

What have you been up to this week?

8am - not a bad time to be woken up by a hungry cat wanting some food.

9am - Breakfast

10am - showered, dressed, face in progress

11am - I couldn't make up my mind about what to do, so much on the to-do list but I sat with a cuppa and read a little instead. Time spent reading is always time well spent. In stark contrast the following day I'd ticked off several things on the list before 10am.

12pm - Doing something less interesting but more productive. Ironing. Blurgh.

1pm - After lunch I got back to it, almost done though. If I didn't leave the ironing pile to get so big it wouldn't take so long, but this is something I never seem to learn.

2pm - I gave up trying to be productive and hit the sofa with my book and a snack. I'm going sugar free at the moment to treat an allergy to sugar beet. But so many products have sugar in (basically anything not made from scratch in your own kitchen), I think I might starve. Dates give me a (natural) sugar fix, but I can't stop thinking about chocolate.

3pm - still reading.

4pm - Finished.

5pm - trying a new recipe Spinach Lasagna. Not bad, if a little soggy, it was actually much tastier when reheated for supper the next day. As with most veggie recipes I felt it could be improved with a little ham... (and I would've done so if one of the ingredients used to roast the ham wasn't sugar).

6pm - waiting for supper to finish cooking, stuck under a cat.

7pm - Tinker managed to make me spill an almost full cup of tea on my lap, so I was early into my PJs.

8pm - Fire roaring, cats snoozing, husband home, The West Wing boxset (again).

9pm - New book selected. One that's been on my shelf for years. Loving it so far.

Saturday February 18th - Photo An hour arranged by Louisa and Jane - thanks ladies!

On Saturday morning my postie knocked on the door and surprised me with a unexpected parcel. The lovely guys at Corkers Crisps had sent me a box full of their delicious crisps!

They have some new flavours and a new look. As a graphic designer I love a little brand refresh, and as someone who really appreciates crisps, I love eating crisps!


The new look gets the thumbs up from me. Based on the everything that is quintessentially British, they are still easily identifiable as Corkers but the colours pack more punch. The ghosted British icon wallpaper background has been replaced with a vibrant collection of colourful graphics.

The new look packaging better represents their quirky, original ethos. I like it.

As for the new flavours, they've added to the vegetable crisp range with Parsnip with Honey & Black Pepper, and Sweet Potato with Chilli (as part of the redesign the vegetable crisps can now be identified by the teapot graphic, the potato crisps by the bowler hat).

Andy isn't a fan of vegetable crisps (which suits me, it means I get to eat them all!). But I did let him try these new flavours as he loves anything with chilli, and his love of parsnips knows no bounds.

Andy and I sampled the delights of Corkers crisps back in September. I fed him as he drove his tractor up and down, and tried to guess the flavours. It was fun, it was funny.

It's an afternoon I often think about and it always makes me smile.

Corkers now remind me of summer, of hanging out and laughing with my husband, and spending a lazy afternoon doing very little (well I didn't do much, Andy was working ...).

It seemed perfectly timed that another box of crisps arrived for me to share with Andy on Valentine's Day.

Forget expensive gifts, chocolates and roses - romance resides in the bottom of a packet of crisps in our house!

We tried the vegetable crisps first. As I predicted I loved the parsnip ones, sadly so did Andy which meant I had to be a nice wife and share them. The sweet potato and chilli crisps were spicy and a nice twist on regular vegetable crisps. If you're a fan of vegetable crisps these won't disappoint.

It seems the Red Leicester and Caramelised Onion might have been replaced with Cheddar Cheese and Chive. Not for the faint-hearted this flavour packs a serious punch! They are Delicious (note the capital 'D').

The one thing you can say about Corkers crisps is that they are flavourful, these are not delicate hints of flavour, but tastebud assaulting, make you sit up and pay attention flavours, teamed with a good satisfying crunch.

They're every bit as good as I remembered.

For my own amusement I wanted to see if Andy could correctly identify the flavours after our blind taste test back in September. He couldn't. But he was close enough.

I let Andy have the Duck and Hoisin Sauce crisps all to himself because they're his favourite. And he's mine.

///  Thank you to Corkers Crisps for sending me these tasty morsels just in time for Valentine's Day. All opinions, and crisp related memories are entirely my own  ///

Today's BEDN prompt is Food Glorious Food!

Now, who doesn't have the song from Oliver going around their head?

When I hear the term I always think of comfort food, good hearty meals made in the colder seasons to warm you to your very soul (despite that fact the song was sung by hungry orphans).

When pondering what to cook for supper tonight I was reminded that Andy had never had dumplings. I'll say that again, Andy had never had dumplings! I had an inkling that he'd love them, so I cooked them this evening and because I felt kinda guilty about suet being not the most healthy of ingredients, I decided to make the meal vegetarian.

This took me to my friend's blog Bessie's Veggie Kitchen, to try her recipe for Veggie Stew with Herby Dumplings (recipe originally from Tesco Real Food, although my friend switched it up for the slow cooker). I knew I'd make this one day, I mean how can anyone go through life without sampling the delights of a dumpling?


I threw the veg in the slow cooker this morning and added the super-simple-to-make dumplings half an hour before we ate.

The verdict?

I loved it (although as a meat eater I have to admit that I think it would be improved with a few large chunks of beef). Eating this took me back to winter nights sat around our dining room table, hoping my Mum wouldn't make me eat all of the vegetables on my plate. Supper with a huge side order of nostalgia.

And what did Andy think?

"Can we just have dumplings next time pleeeeease?" As I type he's on the phone asking his Mum why he's never had dumplings before...

I think it's safe to say that the dumplings were a hit.

Ingredients

For the stew
1tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely sliced
1tsp paprika
300g Quorn Pieces
2 sticks celery, chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled, chopped
200g mushrooms, sliced (although I don't like mushrooms so I used a parsnip)
1 pint vegetable stock
1tbsp cornflour, blended to a paste with a little water
1 bouquet garni

For the dumplings
100g self raising flour
50g light vegetable suet
1tsp dried mixed herbs (I used parsley)
pinch salt
ground black pepper
75ml milk

Instructions

For the stew
In the morning put the onion and oil into the slow cooker (set to low) and stir
Add the paprika and Quorn pieces
Add the celery, carrots and mushrooms
Stir well and add the stock
When the stock starts bubbling, add the cornflour paste and the bouquet garni

For the dumplings
Make the dumplings by sieving the flour into a bowl, stir in the suet
Add the herbs, salt and pepper and mix to a smooth, elastic dough with the milk
Divide the mixture into 10-12 small pieces and roll into small balls

An hour before you want to eat, turn up to high

30mins before you want to eat, add the dumplings.


Day 3 of Blog Every Day In November with Rosalilium

I really like crisps, so when I was asked if I'd like to review some the answer was obvious.

There were two reasons I agreed. No.1 I really like crisps and no.2 they're grown and produced in East Anglia (which is home to me).

The crisps in question are Corkers Crisps. Great name and I love the patriotic branding with British icons - the Mini, a London taxi, a cricket bat, a telephone box...

Anyway, I thought I'd do a tasting session with Andy one night, perhaps whilst watching a DVD or several episodes of The West Wing, but with him working silly hours at the moment I had to take the crisps to him.

Whilst waiting for this opportunity I scoffed the Sea Salt, and Sea Salt and Cider Vinegar. But that's just between you and me.


My opportunity came a few days ago when Andy was working in one of the fields nearby. I hopped into his tractor cab and proceeded to fill him with crisps. He didn't seem to mind.

I decided to amuse myself by making it a blind taste test. He was happy to play along, although he did give me a sideways glance when I told him his thoughts would be published on the worldwide web.


First up the Red Leicester and Caramelised Onion. His guess - sour cream and cheese, which I thought was a pretty good guess. I liked these ones especially, but then this is the sort of flavour I prefer. They're not your average cheese and onion, they taste more authentic, perhaps less processed or more naturally flavoured, I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe I need another bag to be sure ;)


We agreed that they had a good crunch to them, I'd been promised this in the PR info and wasn't disappointed. They're not called 'crisps' for nothing. Apparently the crunch comes from the potato being grown in peaty fenlands - so well done the peaty fields of Cambridgeshire.

After that we tried the Sea Salt and Cracked Black Pepper. He said 'lots of pepper and something'. These did have a strong pepper flavour, especially as an after taste, the salt was a little lost but we both liked it.


Then we tried Sweet Thai Chilli. 'A chilli something' he said. These were a lovely colour and I think he knew they would be chilli before he even tried it.


Next up Gressingham Duck and Hoisin Sauce. He pondered over this for a while, he knew the flavour but couldn't put his finger on what it was. In the end he guessed at prawn crackers, knowing that it wasn't right. As soon as I told him, he could put the two together, and declared these his favourite.

And finally we tried Pork Sausage and English Mustard. "I want to say turnip, but I might not know what a turnip tastes like. It's an earthy root vegetable anyway" he said. I liked these, I thought the mustard flavour came through first and then gave way to the meaty taste but Andy couldn't taste either. Interestingly he likes mustard and eats loads of it and I'm not a fan and yet I could taste it and he couldn't.

I should point out that he has rather odd taste buds, according to Andy a digestive biscuit spread with tartar sauce is a taste sensation.

Yeah, he's a wrong'un.

As for the ones I tried at home - Sea Salt, and Sea Salt and Cider Vinegar - both were really tasty, the crisps seem slightly thicker and more robust than other brands. The Sea Salt and Cider Vinegar had a lovely tang to the after taste, and the perfect amount of sharpness. I can see why they have recently won Potato Grower of the Year by UK Growers and been named Best Regional Supplier by Waitrose (they also have a host of Great Taste Awards).


Most recently they've launched vegetable crisps, I kept these to myself as Andy isn't a fan and these are really tasty too. The bag disappeared far too quickly and I could've easily eaten another pack... or several.

So, would I buy them again? Yes. Especially the Gressingham Duck (that are reared on the farm) and Hoisin Sauce, and the vegetable crisps.

They're available from National Trust properties, the Tate, selected Waitrose stores and also Waitrose.com

Have you tried Corkers Crisps?

///

Thank you to Corkers Crisps for sending me these tasty treats. All opinions, my crisp obsession and oddly taste-budded husband are entirely my own. 

///

(Day 32 of blogging everyday for 40 days)

So there I was sitting on the sofa, watching The Big Bang Theory, I'd finished a large glass of wine and the adverts came on.

The bald chap that used to play rugby and now captains on A Question of Sport popped onto my screen and told me about this fantastic new powder - Bioglan Super Foods Supergreens. What he actually said is a bit of a haze but he was obviously convincing, because I got out my phone and added a tub of it to my online grocery order.

In the cold light of day, no longer under the influence of said large glass of wine, I wondered what on earth had possessed me to spend £9.99 on 70g of green powder!

Anyway it was too late to change my order, I'd bought it and so I thought I might as well find out what it actually was.

The powder itself seems too good to be true, with 81 vital ingredients it claims to have more than your 5-a-day per serving. Reviews on the Holland and Barrett website seem to rave about how energised people feel, how lovely their skin looks, and, erm, how 'regular' they are.

It suggests adding 10g (two teaspoons) to water or milk or smoothies. 10g, that's only seven servings from my 70g pot. That means my pot will last seven days. Seven days for £9.99. That's £1.43 per day.

After watching Eat Well For Less? for the first time recently, I've become obsessed with working out how much food costs over a year. To have a serving of this everyday would work out at £519.48. Yikes!

I am rubbish at eating my 5-a-day, so something as simple as adding two teaspoons of powder to water, and getting them all in one hit, seems very tempting.

But £519.48.

Never-the-less I decided to give it a go. I'd purchased a tub, I might as well see if it's all it's cracked up to be. I wondered if I'd feel any of the health benefits after one week?


I was disappointed to find that the tub is less than half full. It does state that it's 70g on the tub and that's what I got, but when you get a tub this size you do expect it to be almost full. I imagine that they made the tub larger than actually needed so the perceived value would be greater.

It smelled nice, sort of tropical and a little chocolaty. So far so good (if you ignore the meager amount).

I carefully measured out two teaspoons (I didn't want to waste a grain of it at that price) and added water, I stirred vigorously but it still looked grainy. The advert made it look clear and a beautiful emerald green, in reality it looked sludgy.

It was grainy to drink, you know how sometimes the last mouthful of a hot chocolate can be when you've added 'just one more' heaped spoonful of powder to your cup? it was just like that. It was tasty though, sort of fruity but I also got a chocolaty hit (although I could've just been smelling the chocolate 'taste').

It was nice. Sadly there was no Popeye-eats-spinach-reaction (disappointing), but I did feel ever so slightly smug at cheating my way to my 5-a-day, and then I immediately doubted that it would do me any good at all.

Never-the-less the next day I added the powder over two glasses of water, but they were still grainy to the point of making me cough a little and needing a drink of water to clear my throat.


The day after I added it to yogurt (or Alpro Simply Plain, which is a pretend yogurt) and it was really rather tasty.

On day four though I admitted to myself that I'd been duped. If something seems to good to be true, it probably is.

I tweeted @SR_Nutrition asking if it would have any real health benefits and they said - "I imagine not. It may provide a chunk of vitamins etc but REAL food works synergistically to enhance absorption & health. Sorry @HazelxJoy"

I stirred it into my yogurt anyway - it's tasty after all - and I then disappeared down a Google rabbit hole trying to find an answer on food supplements in general. Don't even get me started, there is so much conflicting information out there I wouldn't known were to begin.

If I've learned anything it's this - beware online shopping when under the influence of alcohol.

I'll save my money and eat more fruit.

(Day 24 of blogging everyday for 40 days)

I didn't think I'd be doing another Soup Sunday quite so soon but I was really keen to try the vegan creamy white bean soup from Bessie's Veggie Food.

Ingredients (serves 4)
- oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp chopped basil
- 1½ tsp dried sage
- 3½ cups low salt vegetable stock
- 3 cups white beans (cooked or canned)
- 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- ½ cup raw cashews
- ½ cup water
- 5 cups shredded kale
- Salt & Pepper

Instructions
- Soak cashews in water for 6-8 hours. Drain, rinse and set aside until ready to make the soup.
- Heat some oil in a large saucepan & Sauté onions and garlic
- Add the basil, sage, salt, stock, beans, and tomatoes.
- Simmer, covered, for about 10-15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, combine the soaked cashews and water in a blender and blend until smooth.
- Add the cashew cream and kale to the soup and mix to combine.
- Cover and turn the heat off. Let it sit for about five minutes.
- And enjoy!

I somehow remembered to soak the cashews when I got home at 1am this morning so I was good to for an early lunch today.

The recipe calls for chopped onion, and being a bit of  a wuss, I hate onion induced eye sting. My eyes don't tend to water but they do sting like a nothing else! My way around this is to use my Pampered Chef chopper. I love this gadget. I can get a finely chopped onion in no time and all the evil onion vapours are contained.

This one was quite expensive (I just looked it up online and it's £35.50 - I don't remember it being that much!!) but I had tried a cheaper version and it was utterly useless.

The recipe measures everything in cups, which I find a little annoying. I prefer a weight measurement myself - how can you get the correct amount of sundried tomatoes with a measuring cup? And surely it's easier to say 1 litre of water instead of 4 cups?


Overall, I liked this, it has a really nice flavour. I would've liked it a little creamier but then considering the creaminess came from nuts it's pretty good.

I served it with a pile of buttered toast soldiers. Delicious!

Feel free to point me in the direction of any good soup recipes.

(Day 15 of blogging everyday for 40 days)

With the weather taking a decidedly autumnal turn I've been preparing heating up soups for my lunch. But I fancied having a go at making some of my own.

I've shared some recipes from Bessie's Veggie Food before (here/here, in fact the mexican lasagne has just gone on my meal plan for next week). On a recent visit to the site, I found a recipe for Miso Soup.

As with any soup, I like to enjoy it with a crusty roll, or a cheese sandwich, to dunk.

Ingredients
4 cups low salt vegetable stock (1 litre)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbsp ginger, freshly grated
1 tbsp thinly sliced red chilli pepper (optional)
3 tbsp miso paste
1 spring onion, thinly sliced
a handful of cubed tofu (optional)
another 2 handfuls of chopped veg. e.g. carrots, asparagus or broccoli spears


Instructions
Place the vegetable stock, ginger, garlic, chilli pepper, and spring onion in a medium pot over high heat. Bring to the boil, uncovered, then reduce to a simmer.

Put the miso paste into a small bowl, and add a little of the stock to it. Use a fork to mash the paste into the stock, then add to the soup pot. Do not allow the broth to return to a boil!

Add the tofu (if using) and veg to the pot. Allow them to heat through for a few minutes so the vegetables cook just slightly.


Verdict? 
Nice! Every bit as good as the one I normally buy (Wakame Miso Soup). Granted this takes longer than squeezing the paste out of a packet and adding boiling water, but it's nice to be able to add veg to your liking.

What would I do differently?
I'd use red chilli pepper. Tesco substituted mine for Mirabella peppers, which had a nice flavour but no heat.

I'd leave out the broccoli, I added this just to finish it off but actually I much prefer the kale (or spring greens) and would've liked more of it. Thinly sliced leeks would be nice too.

I wouldn't use these Kallo stock cubes again. These ones took so long to dissolve, much longer than any I've used before.


What about the ginger?
I ordered fresh root ginger and had no idea how much to buy. I ended up with about four times as much as I needed (a common problem when shopping online). I Googled to see if I could use ground ginger instead only to discover that 'the two are not really interchangeable.'


All in all it was worth the extra effort and I'll be making this again - and not just because I want to use up all of that ginger!

As for Bessie's Veggie Food, I have every intention of trying the cherry choc chip ice cream recipe, but I might wait until cherries are in season again.

I also really like the sound of this vegan creamy white bean soup, so this will be my next recipe to try. I've already gathered together the ingredients.

Any good soup recipes you can recommend?

(Day 8 of blogging everyday for 40 days)