Minnie's Soup Kitchen

Henningsvaer Fish Soup  According to Sophie Grigson, Henningsvaer is "a picturesque little port right up north in Norway's Lofoten Islands" and this soup (my thirty-eighth) is "the speciality of a small restaurant there." Searching briefly on the internet for Henningsvaer has confirmed in me my desire to visit those more remote parts of the Nordic countries (we holidayed in the Baltic earlier this year and I really liked what I saw of Finland). Back to the fish soup, which I made yesterday evening, the ingredients include fish stock, cod fillet, butter, onion, carrot, leek, caster sugar, white wine vinegar and creme fraiche.  I prepared the vegetables in advance, then started cooking around 5pm. It was fairly straightforward and we were ready to go just before 6pm. The creme fraiche and the fish (the fish is cooked separately) were the last ingredients to be added. The soup was really delicious and is on my notional list of recipes to be used again. Last wee...

German Chicken Broth According to the introductory lines in The Soup Book , this recipe is "based on a Thuringian vegetable soup" and "requires a good-quality, well-flavoured chicken stock, so make your own for best results." The last batch of chicken stock made in this house had pork chop bones added to it, so that's the stock I've used. The other ingredients are green beans, carrots, kohlrabi and mangetout or sugar snap peas: the finished broth is garnished with cream and finely chopped chervil. Kohlrabi is also known as German turnip ( rassica oleracea L. Gongylodes group). Of course, when I'm not looking for them, I see them in the shops but on the day when I want to buy some, I can't find them. So I substituted ordinary (white) turnips. They might even be just what I wanted. I bought them at the green grocer's cum garden centre (tiny) cum bistro (more below). The broth is cooked. The recipe is ver...