Lemon Orzo with Broccoli Florets

It's been a busy  week and I must admit, I was glad for the weekend to come.  

I have never missed a deadline and I was not intending to start now. So when the deadline was met with an hour to spare, I called it a day, but I did not feel guilty about it as it had already been a longer working day, and week for me.

This Lemon Orzo with Broccoli was made early this week for lunch in between work and I am glad for days, when lunch is prepped and ready to go.   The citrus piquancy that had infused the orzo and the  broccoli was appreciated by D as he does like lemons.  There's also a little sweetness from the sundried tomatoes and a scattering of toasted pumpkin seeds. If you do make these, only toss in the pumpkin seeds when your ready to serve, otherwise they will get damp and lose their crunch.  

I am sharing this Lemon Orzo with Broccoli recipe with Soup, Salad and Sammies hosted by Kahakai Kitchen. 

Sweet Potato Cumin Soup

I've woken up to snow this morning, the rooftops of the terraced houses in front look like a festive card with the hills and trees behind. And from the back, the garden view is a little more lively, with the birds on the search for berries and nibbles. They have been considered, as D has filled the bird feeder with seeds.  No seeds for us though, we have this deep orange, bordering on golden Sweet Potato Soup enhanced with warming spices, namely cumin.  

Ideally I would liked to have put some fresh coriander to the soup as I think it would have cut through some of the sweetness, a little like lemon.  But i cannot remember the last time we had fresh coriander at home; and I will confess its one soft herb, I struggle to grow at home.  Nevertheless, it was still a good soup to eat with homemade bread, albeit from the bread machine.

Its been a busy week and weekend, as i attended a workshop of my accord (not work-related yesterday).  I won't say what the topic was, as it may be triggering for some readers, but it was intense, insightful and valuable to my own mental health and wellbeing.  My only regret was not adding my voice to the discussion; and i wondered why this was and i have been reflecting on this.  Some voices do tend to get lost in a room, even more so on zoom. 

Odds and Sods around the kitchen

Once again, there is not much new in my kitchen, but i do love participating with In My Kitchen that Sherry's Pickings hosts, so I thought, i'd share some things in my cupboards that are all connected to the kitchen. 

But before that let me share some Rosemary Salt I made.  I know, so easy.  On reflection though, i wish i had minced the homegrown dried rosemary.

I know Sherry likes her pottery, so do I.  I picked up these pottery glasses or cups from a charity shop a few years ago.  I don't know much about them, I think they may be Japanese cups, but cannot be sure, regardless I like them and have used them in the past once for mulled apple juice. 

Little Bit of Green

There was a tweet that went out Sunday night that read 'Can't believe it's back to Teams and Zoom Tomorrow' (meaning Monday) with a person holding their head with a cigarette.  It's captured exactly how i (minus the cigarette)and many others returning to back to work felt yesterday.  

It was good to have the whole week off. Switching off. I made the most of my time.  Its been nice, just reading some non fiction books, watching nonsense and not so nonsense TV, but as I said before in regards to cooking and baking, I haven't done much of late.  I had wanted to make Johanna's Gingerbread Cookies for the festive holidays and decorate them individually and then share with the people in my life, but it never happened.  I hope I live to be able to make and share them in 2021- well, nothing is to be taken for granted now.

Welsh Leek and Potato Soup

Wishing my readers and those who come by now and again, a  kinder New Year.

It's my blog anniversary tomorrow, 11 years and I often celebrate by sharing cookbooks, but this year I haven't been inspired very much to cook because of the pandemic, hence the lack of blogging last year and flicking through cookbooks, old or new. I don't know how inclined I will be this year either, but I do have a new blog header  to celebrate my Blogiversary as it has become a bit of an tradition to do so.