Yellow Split Pea Soup Recipe

500g (2 cups) yellow dried split peas, washed and soaked in water overnight
5 - 6 cups water
1 large onion chopped
3 carrots chopped
1 small turnip chopped (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
Mixed herbs (optional)

• Place the split peas with the vegetables in a large saucepan and cover well with water.
• Bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for about an hour until the peas are soft and starting to go a bit mushy.
• I used a blender to make this into more of a smooth soup
• season well and enjoy on its own or with crusty bread

This works out at 18p (25 cents) per portion and makes 7 portions

Every Blessing,
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Lentil and Tomato Soup

A hearty and satisfying soup, sprinkled with grated cheese - this is a meal in itself......

small onion 1
Tomatoes 8oz (225g) I used to large Beef Tomatoes
Oil 2 tbsps
Lentils 4 ozs (100g)
Tomato Juice 1/2 pint  = 2 cups (I used 1 pint = 4 cups)
Vegetable Stock 1.1/2 pints - 3 cups....(I used 1 pint = 2 cups)
Thyme 1/2 tsp
yeast extract 1/2 tsp
salt and pepper to taste

Chop the onion and tomatoes. Heat the oil in a pan and saute the onion until transparent. Add the remaining ingredients, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.Adjust seasoning to taste.

I did blend the soup but you dont have to do that. Serve cheese on top if so desired and/or serve with nice crusty bread or toast.

Enjoy................

Every Blessing,
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How to make vegetable stock from scraps

Here is what you'll need!

How to Make Easy Veggie Stock With Kitchen Scraps
Makes roughly 3 quarts

INGREDIENTS
Onions (tops, bottoms, and skins)
Celery (tops and bottoms)
Carrots (tops, bottoms, and skins)
Mushrooms (stems)
Garlic (tops, bottoms, and skins)
Potatoes (tops, bottoms, and skins)
Parsley (stems)

You can add many other vegetable scraps (think sweet!) - i.e. corn cobs, winter squash, zucchini, and other squash, beet greens, fennel, chard, lettuce, parsnips, green beans, pea pods, bell peppers, eggplant, mushrooms, asparagus, and herbs like dill, thyme, parsley, cilantro, and basil.

PREPARATION
Remove the tops/bottoms/skins/stems from any vegetables you are preparing (avoid vegetables like Brussels sprouts, broccoli, or cauliflower as they will add a bitter taste to your stock) and place them in a ziplock bag - they can stay frozen up to 6 months.
Continue like this until bag is full.
Dump bag into pot and fill ¾ of the pot (or until scraps just start to float) with water. 
Bring water to a boil and then let it simmer for at least 30 minutes.
Strain water out of stock.
Refrigerate stock up to 4 days, or freeze up to 3 months.

Every Blessing,
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Strawberry Pavlova

Ingredients:
3 large egg whites
7/8s of a cup of (200grams) castor sugar
3 cups (600 grams) of fresh fruit (you don't have to use strawberries)
1.1/4 cups 300mls of double/heavy cream
icing sugar to dust over the top of pavlova

Method:

• Heat oven to 150C.130C fan/gas2. 
• get a baking tray and put a dash of oil and spread over bottom of baking tray before cutting out a piece of baking parchment and sticking that down onto the tray. I normally spread the very tiniest of amounts of oil over the baking parchment to prevent Pavlova sticking. to the paper.
• whisk egg whites with a hand mixer until they form stiff peaks and then whistk in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time until the meringue looks glossy.
• Spread the meringue onto the baking tray to form a circle and make a dent in the middle of the Pavlova covering the bottom of the pavlova and then just form a wall around the pavlova (if this makes sense), basically making the sides of the meringue a little higher than the middle. 
• Bake for 1 hour and then turn off the heat and let the Pavlova cool completely. I normally leave the pavlova in the oven overnight with the heat turned off.
• When the meringue is cool, whip the cream until it is stiff and then put into the middle of the pavlova and it doesn't matter if cream goes over the edges of the Pavlova. 
• Cut the strawberries in half and decorate the Pavlova and then dust icing sugar over the top and put in the fridge.
• alternatively,with the fruit you can chop 1 cup of fresh fruit and place in food processor with 2 tablespoons of icing sugar and blitz until smooth then push the fruit mixture through a sieve and spread this fruit mixture over the top of the fruit once it is on the pavlova and then dust with icing sugar

ENJOY :)

Every Blessing,
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Rice Pudding Recipe

This is the first time I have mad rice pudding in a saucepan and it worked out really well :)

• 
  
• 4 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup raw medium-grain white rice or pudding rice
• Pinch salt
• 1 vanilla bean, split, or 1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1/3 cup sugar

Dump the milk, rice, salt, and split vanilla bean into a large, heavy saucepan (if you're using vanilla extract, don't add it yet). Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Uncover and continue simmering, stirring frequently, until the rice is tender and the pudding is reduced to about 3-1/2 cups, about 8 minutes. It's important to let the pudding simmer gently, not boil, and you'll need to stir constantly toward the end of cooking to prevent scorching.

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla extract (if using). Slowly add the cooked rice mixture, whisking constantly. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan, making sure to scrape the bowl. Set the pan over medium-low heat and cook, stirring and scraping the sides and bottom of the pan constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture has thickened and coats the back of the spoon, about 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat. Transfer the pudding to a bowl or serving dish and lay a sheet of plastic wrap right on the pudding's surface to prevent a skin from forming. If you've used a vanilla bean, fish it out when the pudding has cooled, scrape out the seeds, and stir the scrapings into the pudding. Discard the empty bean. Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled.

to go with the rice pudding I smashed up half a punnet of strawberries and added castor sugar which should be really nice :)

Enjoy :)

Every Blessing,
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Strawberry Ice Cream Recipe

Ok Ingredients are as follows:

2.1/4 cups (500mls) full fat milk

2,1/4 cups (500mls) double cream

1 cup (200grams) white sugar (not icing sugar though)

2.1/2 cups (475grams) whole strawberries

1/4 teaspoon salt

Method

• mash the strawberries (I used a potato masher) until all mushy
• add the strawberries and rest of ingredients to the freezer bowl of the  ice-cream maker and let the ice-cream maker do its work until it is almost firm
• transfer to tupperware dishes or similar and put into the freezer and ENJOY

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Layered Salads

I have made a couple of layered salads in jars, of which a box of jars was given to me for free from a lady in my town. The idea for the above I got the idea from Crystal at homesteadinghomemaker.blogspot.uk.

I went shopping today for salad ingredients and I have put in a layer of honey and mustard dressing, celery, radishes, cucumber, carrots, tomatoes topped off with salad leaves. I will have this for my lunch for the next couple of days. At the weekend I will make six layered salads for the fridge for next week.  This is really a neat idea and will have the above with cheese or ham for my lunches for Thursday and Friday.

Bon Appetite :)

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