Sunday 19 July 2015

Hello there 200s! And a yummilicious summer soup

This morning the bathroom scales said 21 stone and 5 lbs.
That is 299 lbs. Woot!
So...hooray for me! Am now finally in the lovely 200s! Yay!

This last month has been a bit up and down. So this result today is a good one.

Ahh, and I am eating the most delicious soup, of my own invention.
Recently I've been sprouting brown lentils, in order to add them to salads.
But, a little handful of little brown discs soon fills the whole jar.
What to do with all of them?

As a reward for my volunteering, the charity I work for gives us free vegetables & fruit.
This week I had a load of fresh peas. Awesome little things, peas.
So, a yummilicious summer soup is born.

A relaxed Sunday evening supper

Summer pea & lentil sprout soup

Ingredients 

2 small onions, peeled and chopped
50g unsalted butter (it's important to use butter for the best taste)
2 small cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
4 large carrots, peeled and chunked
2 cups well sprouted brown lentils (so that the little first green leaves are visible)
500g bag of fresh peas in their pods (this will yield around a cup and a bit - well worth it)
sea salt to taste ( I use a little less than a level teaspoon)
freshly ground black pepper
dried fines herbs - I use Tesco's which contains parsley, chervil, chives and tarragon
juice of one small fresh lemon
enough hot water to cover vegetables

Method

In a nice deep pan, melt butter on medium heat. Add chopped onions and sauté gently for about 5 minutes until translucent. Longer is good. What we want is a slight sweetness. Add salt and pepper.

Add chopped carrots & sauté gently for another five minutes. Add dried fines herbs, about 2 teaspoons. Add sprouted lentils, sauté a minute or two, then add hot water to cover. Add chopped garlic. Doing this means the garlic is a sultry soft note in the soup and not a harsh one.

Bring to the boil, then leave to simmer on a low heat for about 20 minutes while getting on with podding the peas while listening to the radio! After 20 mins test the carrots and lentils to see if they are soft. Cook another few minutes if not.

Add peas, and more hot water to cover if necessary, bring to boil, then simmer for 5 mins. Take off heat.

Squeeze lemon for the juice, add to soup. Now blend in batches. Add a little hot water to swill out the lovely green residue from the blender...

To serve: swirl in a couple of tablespoons of creme fraiche/sour cream/double cream. Add more salt/lemon juice if necessary to taste. Enjoy!

Friday 3 July 2015

BP update

148/84
doc is pleased with my progress. Diabetes being managed by diet, have lost weight, lower BP...
Has been a good six months healthwise.