Carrot & Kumara Soup

Made this in a hurry and tasted alright so thought I would write it down.
It's quick and easy!

heat oil
stir in 1x clove crushed garlic
add 3x large carrots and 2x medium kumara and 1 tsp of thai green curry paste
stir for few more moments
add 3x cups of chicken stock
simmer 20-30 mins
take off heat and mash in pot (or carefully blend if you want a finer soup)
add a can of coconut milk
heat through again
add pepper and salt to taste

What to do with courgettes.

Our friends Neil, Ange & Emma, and Jess & Andrew have an allotment and are presently enjoying an over-suppy of courgettes. I was there for diner last night and we had this yummy courgette soup.

Ingredients Serves 4 1 kg courgettes - any size and colour 250g potatoes (suitable for mashing), peeled or scrubbed 2 cloves garlic, peeled & crushed 1 medium onion, peeled & chopped 30ml olive oil 150g soft cheese (see note below for alternatives) Handful fresh chives, chopped Handful fresh summer herbs of your choice, chopped 1 1/2 pints water (or mild-flavoured stock)

Method

Wash the courgettes and chop them into chunks. Heat the oil gently in a large pan. Add the onion and garlic. Gently cook for about 5 minutes, to soften. Add the potatoes. Stirr. Cook gently, covered, for about 15 minutes, until about half-cooked. Add the courgettes and stir. Cook for about 5 minutes until softened, stirring occasionally. Add 1 1/2 pints of water - just enough to cover the contents of the pan. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft. Remove from the heat and liquidise the soup. Add the Cheese & herbs. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Allotment Photos:

Winter Carrot Soup (reposted on behalf of Chantel)

Now that my winter weekends are spent in Ohakune, so I can go snowboarding nearby at Mt Ruapheu, I can't go past the $10 bag of local winter veges at the store. Now what to do with all those carrots?! I have searched Google for recipes and ideas and tweaked a test run tonight...


1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
4 large carrots grated
1 medium onion chopped
4 cups of vegetable stock
1 100g can of plain tomato paste
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 tsp of dried thyme, or some sprigs of fresh thyme
1 - 2 tsp of dried cumin
1/4 tsp ground black pepper


In a medium stockpot heatoil and sir in carrot and onion. Saute until tender, about 5mins.


Add stock, tomato paste, soy sauce, thyme, cumin, and pepper. Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer for about 5 mins.


Bright orange and full of flavour, serve it with a dollop of sour cream and/or sprig of fresh thyme. (may also be served chilled)

Spicy Lentil Soup

Another "leaving home and fending for yourself" tradition is to own your very own personal edition of the Edmonds Cookbook This is one of my favourites from my 1994 edition, and I have just made it for the first time this winter... I'm spurred on by the cold and rainy weather! It's not too spicy and tastes great even if frozen and saved for another rainy day.

2 teaspoons of butter
2 teaspoons of oil
1 clove or 1 tsp crushed garlic
1 carrot finely chopped
1 onion finely chopped
1 stalk celery finely chopped
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 cup of brown lentils
250g bacon bones (optional)
400g can tomatoes in juice, chopped
4 cups of beef stock
salt+black pepper
2 tblsp choppped parsley (optional)

Heat butter and oil in a large saucepan. Add garlic, carrot, onion, and celery. Cook until onion is clear. Add in curry powder stirring constantly for 30 seconds. Add lentils, bacon bones (optional), tomatoes and juice, and stock. Cover, bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer covered for 1 1/2 hours or until lentils are cooked. Remove and discard bacon bones (if used) Season with Salt and pepper. Serve garnished with parsley. Serves 4 - 6