Monday 9 April 2012

Hello again...

Wow. Things have been quiet here for a while, eh? It's amazing how time slips away - first it was work pressure, then we went away for awhile. Now I'm back and faced with some troublesome technology {a broken iphone and a laptop that doesn't want to stay awake without a cable to the mains!}. None the less, there's a lot going on in my head that I can't wait to get down "on paper".

We've just returned from an incredible week skiing with some of our closest friends. After my very humble beginnings in Glenshee, I'm pleased to say we had the most incredible time! I'll do a post on that later in the week, rather than cramming it into a quicker post now. It is safe to say that good wine, good company and "good" skiing made for a fantastic week that flew by. It was so much fun to spend time with those friends - many of whom I see far less than I would like thanks to jobs and geography.

Now though, after a week of hitting it hard, we're back and using Easter Monday to recover. Part of this was certainly about filling my body with vegetables: a week of carbs and I'm craving vitamins. This delicious soup seemed like a great, easy option. It's quick and easy to make, low in fat and delicious. It definitely ticked all the boxes for today and I made enough to provide easy, healthy lunch options for the rest of the week. I'm trying to go a bit easy on the stodge for the rest of the week {having eaten my body weight in breads and pastries} so this was perfect!

As always the recipe is a bit rough and ready. I used 6 largeish tomatoes, 3 red peppers and a couple of teaspoons of lazy garlic. Chop it all roughly and whack it in a roasting dish along with a healthy dose of salt and pepper and a guzzle of olive oil. Be sure to give it a good shake before you pop it in the oven. You could use low fat spray if you wanted to lower the fat content even more.

I like to whack mine on a low temperature - gas mark 3 or 4 - for a couple of hours, shaking it when I remember. You could cook them higher for a shorter period of time, it just depends how busy you are! Be sure to keep an eye on it though. I personally like the sweetness and stickiness that comes with the vegetables when you cook them gently for a long time. Nom nom nom! They should come out looking a little like this {ignore the rubbishy iphone pictures from the boy's phone - I want Instagram back!}...


Delicious. Mine were a bit too toasted in parts but that's ok! I whacked everything in my blender along with a chicken stock cube {only because there's no veggies and that's what we had to hand!}, a dash of smoked paprika and a bit of sweetener to distract from any acrid taste from any overly toasted tomatoes {homemade cooking at it's best...ahem...}


I poured a good half pint to a pint of boiling water into the roasting tin. This will pick up any of the flavours that are still hanging around on the pan - the sweet stickiness from the tomatoes and any oil for example - before sticking that in the blender too. Whizz on high until it's the consistency you like - add more water to make it thinner. I personally prefer it a bit thicker, though still smooth. Served with a dollop of creme fraiche and some toast and you have a delicious, healthy and simple lunch. I only needed to pick up the vegetables too, everything else was in the cupboard making it a super cheap way to make lunch for the week. 

Does anyone have any soup recipes they'd like to share?! I'd really love to hear more...

Cross your fingers my laptop doesn't give up the ghost and I'll be back tomorrow with more posts.

Love B x

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