Black-Eyed Peas and Broccoli Soup

For those of you asking about my allotment and vegetable growing antics.  I have started sowing some seeds.  Tomatoes on the window sill in our home; and all other seeds like climbing beans, broad beans, peas, courgettes in the greenhouse. 

Now onto some food.  For those of you who read my blog post last weekend about Broccoli, this may not come as a surprise to you - as yes, in true style D did come home again from the supermarket  with, Drum roll please - Yes more Broccoli head!

And it won't be a surprise to you Again, when i tell you that I made another Broccoli soup.  I chopped the florets roughly and added it to this spicy Black Eyed Pea soup. I wanted it to cook the broccoli down, so that it would disintegrate, fall apart and get lost in the soup, but its still visible. 

It actually turned out to be a good bowl of soup.  I especially liked the black eyed peas which i don't eat often, but when i do.  I really enjoy them as they satisfyingly melt in the mouth that I can only describe like snow on your tongue with a light buttery sweetness.  The broth is lightly spiced with  cayenne, paprika and cumin.  The broccoli is optional if you want to give the soup some depth.  Also if you do decide to make this soup, you will need to soak the black eyed peas overnight or at least 2 hours before you make this recipe. 

I am sharing this Black-Eyed Peas with Broccoli with Soup, Salad and Sammies hosted by Kahakai Kitchen. 

Now onto this cake, another recipe that i am blaming on D as we had bananas going black and brown in the fruit bowl, and I really dislike waste.  

Broccoli and Stilton Soup

It's been a good educational week of learning, hence a little late blogging this evening but I really wanted to share what we ate earlier today: Broccoli and Stilton Soup.

The reason why I wanted to share it, just made me chuckle.  The recipe comes from New Covent Garden Soup for Every Day and this Broccoli and Stilton was the recipe they actually suggested to make on the 28th February and what is the date today?!  See why i am chuckling to myself.  It was really accidental and not planned. 

D keeps bringing home broccoli from the supermarket and then it sits there taunting me, what to do with it.  Often its just steamed and served as a side dish. But i want to be bit more creative with my vegetables, but its not one of favourite greens. In fact i am not that keen on it.  I only ever prefer the stalks and the bushy green heads ends up on D's plate.  But something had to be done with this head of broccoli just staring at me - so soup it was.

The soup was rich and quite creamy naturally from the addition of the potatoes, so i omitted the cream from the original recipe in the cookbook. I have decided that I actually like broccoli in soup. 

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

Broccoli and Red Pepper Tart

Quiches and Tarts are so popular in my home at the moment.

I make the pastry from scratch and then the filling is made up of whatever vegetable we have laying around in the kitchen that has to be used up; and saved from the compost bin.

This time round, it was Red Pepper, Broccoli with stalks and all.   It was actually quite nice and quite pretty to boot with its red, green and dare i say yellow gold colouring.  The sweetness from the red pepper complimented the broccoli. I served it alongside some left over orzo pasta that in a funny way, it felt more like a buffet dish.  The recipe is adapted from here if your interested in checking it out. 

I am looking forward to my weekend.  I've signed up to two different classes this weekend, both educational for personal development and interest.  It won't feel like a weekend off, as the weekend will entail lots of screen time, reading and listening.  I was thinking about taking Monday off as annual leave, but i have a one to one with my Line Manager that i cannot cancel. So it will be a long working week.  

Anyway, what plans do you have for the weekend? 

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. 

Broccoli and Ginger Soup

Ah so its the weekend and i am pleased not to be doing anything, other than be lazy.

I had planned to do a bit of weeding in the garden, but the dark clouds have been gathering spitting droplets of water, sometimes falling fast, sometimes falling slow, its still rain.  

There was mention of thunder, but i don't know if that has already passed by whilst we slept, as the ground was wet when I opened the curtains this morning.  I slept relatively well, but was disturbed a few times as D's mobile phone kept bleeping becasue it needed recharging.  It was in that moment of wake and sleep that i realised I had been dreaming of working and workplace interactions.  I need to seriously switch off.  I do have a long week annual leave coming up in July, so that will be nice when it arrives.  I can perhaps switch off and read some new fiction and non fiction books by Black writers and writers of colour that are beginning to pile up. This reminded me of books I had when i lived in Glasgow and gave away to Oxfam bookshop and a Women's Library, as well as a community centre when we moved to Wales. I was sad to part with them, but was happy they went to a place where i think some of the new recipients would appreciate them.  I was also reminded of some books that i kept and held back, either because they were dear to me or were of value.  These are still with me but boxed up that i need to revisit them, perhaps a task for when i am on my annual leave and have more time on my hands as were not going anywhere anytime soon on holiday, home or away.

I had planned to make a bookmarked Broccoli and Ginger Soup, but instead found myself adapting the last Broccoli Soup recipe that I shared on the blog.  

Though it does not look that exciting,  i felt nourished. it felt healing to eat. I loved the ginger and it warmed my throat with its natural fire and the blended greens was goodness in a bowl. 

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

Broccoli and Ginger Soup
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium potato, peeled and cubed
250g or thereabouts broccoli, chopped
800ml vegetable stock

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger or minced

1/2 teaspoon ginger powder (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Heat the oil in a wide pan, and saute the onions until translucent, then add the potatoes and cook for 5 minutes without colouring.  
Then stir in the broccoli and the freshly grated ginger, ground ginger and cook for a few minutes before stirring in the vegetable stock.
Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
Turn off the heat, allow to cool before blending either with a hand blender or in a liquidiser.
Reheat season to taste before serving.

Broccoli Soup with Cream of Horseradish

I am surprised at quite how often broccoli nearly goes to waste in my home, but always rescued from finding its way to the compost bin in the form of a bowl of soup. 

It has been welcome, especially as the temperature has dropped and the rain came drenching the soil. The plants and trees that I see outside my window are looking much better for it - truly lush and dare I compare and say that some even  look like broccoli heads sitting comfortably on the horizon. I will have to take a picture to show you what I see.


We have had this Broccoli Soup with Cream of Horseradish twice.  Firstly as is - just Broccoli and Lemon, the second time I remembered to stir in the creamed horseradish.

According to the cookbook and my pencil scribbles, I noted that I had made a variation of this soup in 2004 with shallots and lemon. The original recipe uses lime and fresh horseradish, but I have used horseradish from a jar, hence why this is not vegan. 

Whilst flicking through the cookbook, I wish I had also spotted this Broccoli and Ginger Soup recipe to make, well maybe next time.

I am sharing this Broccoli Soup with Cream of Horseradish with Soup, Salad and Sammies hosted by Kahakai Kitchen. 

Broccoli Soup with Cream of Horseradish
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium potato, peeled and cubed
Zest of a lemon
250g or thereabouts broccoli, chopped
800ml vegetable stock
2 teaspoons horseradish
Salt and pepper to taste
2-4 tablespoons chives, chopped
Method
Heat the oil in a wide pan, and saute the onions until translucent, then add the potatoes, lemon zest and cook for 5 minutes without colouring.  
Then stir in the broccoli and the vegetable stock.
Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
Turn off the heat, allow to cool before blending either with a hand blender or in a liquidiser.
Reheat season to taste and stir in the horseradish and chives, gently reheat before serving.
Adapted from New Covent Garden Soup Company's Soup and Beyond. The original recipe can also be found in their publication A Soup for Every Day: 3665 of our favoruite recipes

Broccoli and Stilton Soup

I cannot believe its already February, where did January go?!

I haven't been doing very much in the way of cooking. And even if I was, when I get home the evenings are so dark that I do not get round to taking a photograph of what I made to showcase here, and therefore not write about it either - which is a bit of a shame when I make something not featured on my blog before.  

Anyway, what I do have to share is this Broccoli and Stilton Soup. It was made over one weekend in January when it was decided that I needed to save from going to waste some Stilton cheese that had not been eaten over the festive holiday.   

It was comforting to eat, especially on days  when your feeling a little under the weather and wishing you could put all the wrongs of the world to right, but know you cannot.  All you can do is turn off the news channel and sit down to a bowl of goodness served up with some good crusty bread. 

I am sharing this Broccoli and Stilton Soup with  Souper Sundays hosted by Kahakai Kitchen and with Weekend Cooking Event hosted by Beth Fish Reads, a weekly event that is open to anyone who has any kind of food related post to share. 

'Cheesy' Broccoli Beer Soup with Smoky Sunflower Chorizo Croutons

Did you see the red sun yesterday?!

It was truly Amazing - I am not one of those people who throws the word around lightly, it really was amazing.  

Early on in the week I made a Red Tomato Curry, today I share a bowl red soup which by all means should have been green according to the both the photograph in the cookbook, but also the ingredients including broccoli.  Upon a little research on blogophere, I noted that other food bloggers had also made the Cheesy Broccoli Beer Soup and it was also not the vibrant green featured in the cookbook Street Vegan, so I felt relieved that I was not heavy handed with either the soy sauce  or tamari and smoked paprika.    

Anyway, this Cheesy Broccoli Beer Soup with Smoky Sunflower Chorizo Croutons was ridiculously flavourful, but in a very good way.  I especially loved the different levels of flavour from the topping the beer, the cheesiness from the nutritional yeas.  It was also very velvety.  Its definitely a soup that clings to the spoon.

I even loved the Smoky Sunflower Chorizo which I served as croutons, but I could easily eat it as a nibble in place of savoury nuts too. 

Kristy Turner's Roasted Broccoli and Apple Salad

The bookmarked recipes on my blog continue. 

This Roasted Broccoli and Apple Salad is my second bookmarked recipe from Kristy Turners But I could Never Go Vegan, the first was BBQ Cauliflower Salad.  

I was tempted to make this Roasted Broccoli and Apple Salad for two other reasons. First, its nearly summer and we need more salads in our diet; and secondly, my blogger friend Johanna who blogs over at Green Gourmet Giraffe had made this very salad a few months back and it got me interested in trying it, especially as apples are replacing bananas in my fruit bowl at home and in the lunch box.  

Harissa Butternut Squash Stew with Broccoli and Chickpeas

I don't know if he was just very hungry or being honest, but D complimented on how delicious this Harissa Butternut Squash Stew was, not once but twice with a Thank you Lady.  

I thought it was going to one of those stews that would benefit from overnight rest in the fridge, but we had it within an hour of making it and it was most enjoyable.  The harissa and the smoked paprika offset against each other wonderfully.

Be careful with the cooking of the vegetables, especially the broccoli towards the end, you do not want it really soft, but still with bite, otherwise it would be more bordering on soup than stew, which is not a bad thing, but sometimes you want texture not bambino  food.

Vegetarian Sumac Meatballs in Broccoli Turmeric Sauce

I have already mentioned in a previous post that I am having a thing about veggie meatballs at the moment.  This is my third dish featuring vegan meatballs in one month. 

Before I went vegetarian, there were only a few meat dishes I would eat: chicken wings to hush my mother from nagging me for not eating meat when I was growing up under her eyes, minced meat samosas and meatballs.  When I left home for University, I did not miss meat dishes and accidentally found myself becoming a vegetarian, these days my diet is probably 95% vegan, so I guess I am veganish - but not vegan at all as I still eat cheese and consume a little milk and eggs on occasion, mostly in recipes. 

For some reason these crisp sienna coloured 'meatballs' have been calling my name and I am so pleased in the knowledge that I can make my own, but there are also some good brands out their, that all you have to do is defrost them and pan fry in a little oil.  The veggie meatballs that I have used here purely out of convenience come from a packet mix and these are enhanced with parsley and the tang of sumac, cooked and then tossed in a Broccoli Turmeric Sauce. 

I have to admit, this recipe was also inspired from  Nigel Slater's recipe for Lamb Meatballs with Sumac and Broccolii as featured in The Guardian early on in the month.  I  adapted it to make it suitable for vegetarians.   I actually preferred this meatball dish compared to the Mushroom one, whereas D preferred the Mushroom Sauce one.  The flavours in this Broccoli Turmeric one are a lot more lighter and look at the awesome colours. 

On first appearance, D said he thought it was Thai flavoured and assumed it was made with coconut milk, but its actually made with creme fraiche.  I guess if you want it to be vegan you could use coconut cream.
Other sumac recipes on the blog
Sumac Popcorn
Sumac Spring Rolls
Sumac Cabbage

Stir Fried Edamame Beans with Smoked Tofu

I had some edamame beans left over from yesterday's brunch and decided to use them up in this relatively quick dish. 

I loved every thing about this dish, the way it looks on the plate, colours, the flavours, the textures. The vibrancy of the greens especially from the edamame and peas.  And the way the fresh red chilli beamed liking a red light bringing the dish to life.  The vegetables still had crunch and the beans popped, especially the broad beans.  When I served it up, D was concerned that there was not enough sauce to coat the rice, but it was plenty moist once he started tucking in.  I guess you could serve these with noodles, but I like plain steamed or boiled white rice.

Please find proper smoked tofu for this recipe, not those lightly smoked and barely .  If your tofu is not smoky enough, then please if possible add a little liquid smoke.  

I am sharing this with Eat Your Greens Challenge hosted this month by The Veg Hog; and with Sunday Fitness and Food Fitness hosted by Marathons and Motivation and Ilka's blog;