It's Almost That Time of Year Again...

Well hello there! 

So, I haven't done a blog post in a little while and I've decided to blow off the cobwebs and get back into it! Apologies for my brief absence, what can I say? I'm a busy bee!

Last week my mum received a very odd text from a neighbour of ours simply asking "Do you want a cabbage?". Of course we did! So a few hours later a huge cabbage, fresh from their garden, was sitting next to our kitchen sink. Lovely.

We have been gradually munching our way through it all week, but there's only so much cabbage one can eat with dinner. 

Lately the weather here has been a bit iffy, you can tell Autumn is on its way already, and today was looking a bit grim. A friend of mine came round for lunch (we like to pretend we're classy that way, being 'Ladies What Lunch' and what-not), and there's one classic meal that can comfortably ease you into the Autumnal weather - soup!

Therefore, with the remaining bit of cabbage, I give you.... MINESTRONE SOUP!

Ingredients:

3 Large Carrots, Chopped

1 Large Onion, Chopped

4 Celery Sticks, Chopped

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

2 Garlic Cloves, Crushed

2 Large Potatoes, Cut into Small Chunks

2 Tablespoons Tomato Puree

2L Vegetable Stock

400g Can Chopped Tomatoes

400g Can Kidney Beans

140g Spaghetti, Snapped Short

1/2 Head Savoy Cabbage, Shredded

1. In a food processor whizz the carrots, onion and celery into small pieces.

2. Heat the oil in a pan and add the processed veg, garlic and potatoes over a high heat for 5mins until softened.

3. Stir in the puree, stock and tomatoes. Bring to the boil then cover and leave to simmer for about 10mins.

4. Tip in the beans and pasta then leave to cook for a further 10mins.

5. Add the cabbage for the final 2mins.

6. Season to taste.

As with most soups, this goes down very well with crusty bread, especially Black Olive and Rosemary Bread, a recipe from an earlier blog post.

Lovely jubly.