Minnie's Soup Kitchen

I'm not writing about soup today. I thought I'd just write a few notes about the family visit to Bloom 2011 . Not the entire family, I should add. The older offspring is away enjoying irresponsibility ... while he can. The spouse, the younger offspring and I cycled over to the Phoenix Park yesterday, arriving at the Conyngham Road entrance just in time for the rain. Then we cycled up Chesterfield Avenue, ringing our bells at pedestrians who had the temerity to walk on the cycle path. We locked our bikes to railings close to the entrance to Bloom and made our way in. The flowers are something to behold. I love fuchsia and was very taken by one called Black to the Fuchsia ! At the food stalls I sampled Mella's Fudge . The stall-holder and I chatted about whether to use evaporated or condensed milk and whether to use a thermometer or go for the boil (she uses a thermometer). We both wrinkled our noses in unspoken agreement at another brand of fudge which really isn't...

Avocado, Cucumber and Sorrel Soup   It's a beautiful sunny June bank holiday here in Dublin and despite the recent cucumber scare I decided to make a cucumber soup. There are five soups in The Soup Book requiring cucumber and this recipe by Sophie Grigson calls for "a ripe, buttery avocado, ... a generous handful of sorrel leaves", a quarter of a large cucumber, Greek yoghurt and garlic.  I'm still not sure what exactly a handful is, generous or otherwise, but I seemed to have enough sorrel in the front garden for this soup. It has continued growing since my last raid.There is no cooking involved in this soup: just blending. The mix turns out a rich shade of green and is very tasty. The younger offspring like it but couldn't finish his portion. Cold soups are an acquired taste, but a taste definitely worth acquiring. Blooms and Buzzes   The spouse and I are planning to go to Bloom 2011 tomorrow. I mentioned in my last blog entry that the County Dublin Beek...

Curried Broth with Peppers  Today is a lovely sunny day in early June but I have chosen to make a hot curried soup. I was pondering what to make for dinner this evening and the spouse said that we had a lot of vegetables in the fridge. I knew there were quite a few peppers so checked in The Soup Book to see how I could use them up. This soup is based on yet another recipe by Roopa Gulati and contains star anise , nigella seeds , fennel seeds, fenugreek seed s, onions, root ginger, an orange pepper and a yellow pepper, basmati rice , turmeric, garam masala , vegetable stock, date palm sugar , lemon and coriander leaves. If you can't find nigella seeds, there are a few spices or herbs you can substitute for them. I didn't use a substitute for the nigella seeds, but I did for the date palm sugar - I just used dark brown sugar and hoped for the best. The different seeds smelled delicious as I fried them together before adding the onion and ginger. Star anise is a new addition...