Tuscan Bean Soup

Tuscan Bean Soup

This recipe calls for canned beans (borlotti, flageolet or cannellini) and as I have been tidying and cleaning out our cupboards I've used cannellini beans. I have to mention that the younger offspring has done an impressive job on the cupboards. That's enough about him. Back to me and my soup!

Other ingredients include onion, carrots, leek, garlic, tomatoes, tomato puree (I substituted sun-dried tomato paste as there was an open jar of it in the fridge), chicken stock (I had to use a cube as my home-made reserves have been used up) and spinach.When ready it's served with ciabatta bread, grated Parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil. So it's quite a rich soup.

We've just had the Tuscan bean soup for lunch. All enjoyed it. The adult males were particularly forthcoming in their praise. The spouse liked the "tomato-ey sharpness" and mused that ham stock should be considered as an alternative to chicken stock.

Bees' Cheese and other recipes

Here's a link in today's Irish Times to an article about a prize-winning organic cream cheese containing honey - www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/magazine/2010/0403/1224267344562.html. Thanks to the spouse for alerting me to it. He says he's becoming attuned to bee-related news too!

I did a quick search and found a link to another item on bee cheese - http://cookandeat.com/2007/04/16/carlis-bee-cheese/. It's a recipe for a cheese spread and the author isn't sure why it's call Bee Cheese.

Also in the Irish Times (Eating In in the magazine) is Domini Kemp's recipe for rhubarb and honey cream tart. Sounds good. Here's the link - www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/magazine/2010/0403/1224267342314.html.

I usually make a simnel cake for Easter using a recipe I cut out of Good Housekeeping over twenty years ago. As the offspring aren't too keen on fruit cakes, the spouse and I have to eat it and as the spouse is feeling bulkier than he would like, we're not having it this year. A pity. I love marzipan and the taste of it baked within a cake!



Honey-Dipped Point for Today

Following up yesterday's blog in which I wondered if G might take up bee-keeping, I learned this morning that he's allergic to bees. Ironic, considering that his father is a bee-keeper and honey producer!


No honey in this point

And finally, bees aren't everyone's cup of tea. Here's a link to an article in today's Guardian about someone's experience with "killer" bees in India - www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/apr/03/attacked-by-killer-bees-india. Thanks again to the spouse, whose antennae are on full alert.