Minnie's Soup Kitchen

Gazpacho We've been enjoying unexpectedly warm and sunny weather lately, so I thought a chilled soup would be apt. Flicking through The Soup Book  I came across Geetie Singh 's recipe for gazpacho . After a busy week and a busy Saturday spent preparing dinner for guests last night (actually, the spouse was busy preparing dinner), I was delighted to see that the preparation for the gazpacho was limited to peeling and chopping. Even having to get the food processor out didn't pose too much of a challenge. Tough decision-making was the theme of this recipe, starting with the options for certain ingredients: spring onions or red onion thyme, marjoram, parsley, mint or basil fresh chilli or cayenne pepper. I have underlined the choices I made. Gazpacho Breaking free from the constraints of the ingredients list, I used an orange pepper rather than the red indicated in the recipe. Other ingredients included garlic, cucumber, tomatoes, stale bread, red wine vineg...

Cucumber and Walnut Soup  Looking east from the northside quays  on the first glorious  day of  2012 Yesterday was that one glorious Irish summer day and it was by chance that my decision to make a chilled soup fell on that day. The recipe for cucumber and walnut soup is by Celia Brooks Brown . Aside from the obvious ingredients, it calls for Greek or thick and creamy yogurt, a clove of garlic, walnuts, mint leaves and lemon juice. It was perfect for the day as I had marched the younger offspring from O'Connell St, down Sean McDermott St to North Strand Rd, then along Ossory Road, around the East Wall area and along the quays in the hot sunshine. So when we arrived home, I was glad there was no cooking involved. All I had to do was peel, dice, stir, pound and chop. Then everything was left in the fridge to chill. Cucumber chopped and ready to be souped up We had the soup for dinner. It doesn't sound like a substantial meal but the younger offspring and ...

Hot Cucumber and Tarragon Soup   This is my third cucumber soup from The Soup Book and the fifth recipe by Marie-Pierre Moine . She writes that cooked cucumber has a subtle flavour and combines well with the "more assertive but still delicate" tarragon. The ingredients include cucumbers, oil, butter, chopped fresh tarragon, vegetable or chicken stock, cornflour and cream cheese (this is optional and is spooned on top of the soup when serving). I had hoped to use tarragon from my front garden but my single plant has not flourished to the same extent as the parsley, sage, lovage and sorrel growing adjacent to it. The spouse wasn't able to find any tarragon when he went shopping yesterday morning, but while we were out for lunch at the Dublin Food Co-op I had a look around and found some. The Co-op was very quiet yesterday and the spouse, the younger offspring and I had a delicious and very reasonably priced meal from one of the Indian food stalls. Incidentally, the spo...

Cucumber and Dill Soup   I have been making good progress through the Summer Vegetables section of  The Soup Book this year. By the end of 2010 I had made twelve of the fifty-eight recipes. We're just over halfway through 2011 and I've made another fourteen. As I mentioned last month, there are five recipes for cucumber soup in the book. Today's is cucumber and dill soup by Marie-Pierre Moine . You need cucumbers, seasoning, milk, fresh dill and bio natural yoghurt. You don't have to cook as this is a chilled soup - just allow yourself plenty of time for full chilling. You'll be peeling, slicing, sprinkling, stirring, chilling, rinsing, blending and sieving. When I got up this morning the sun was beaming down, hence my decision to make this soup. By lunchtime, however, the sky was grey. The younger offspring and his father arrived home for lunch and as I put the finishing touches to the soup I wasn't too impressed. Moine's introduction to the recipe des...

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...