Minnie's Soup Kitchen

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...

Sorrel Soup   In her introduction to the recipe for sorrel soup Sophie Grigson describes it as "a real tonic on a chilly spring day." Today is a cool windy day in late spring. This soup may be served either hot or cold, but today calls for hot soup. The ingredients include large-leaved sorrel , an onion, potatoes, a bay leaf, sprigs of parsley and thyme, chicken or vegetable stock, and cream or Greek yoghurt. Sophie specifies three "big handfuls" of sorrel, but how much is that? What is a big handful? What is a big hand? I had to guess. I planted sorrel a few weeks ago and it seems to be growing well. I harvested all the biggest leaves and hoped for the best. I had hoped to take photographs of the sorrel before I cut it but the spouse was hiding his cameras in his office! For years I have bought pre-packed and pre-washed vegetables, so standing at the kitchen sink to wash the sorrel leaves brought me back to days of carefully washing lettuce at my parents' i...