Soup, Bread and Exciting News!

The other day I threw together some vegetable soup with what I had kicking around the house and it turned out really well. Wee G told me about three times while eating it “I reaaaaally like this soup” so I think I am on to a winner! It’s a very simple soup with lots of tasty veggies and a little kick from the black pepper. I have posted the recipe at the end if you want to give it a go.
To go with the soup I made Harvest Herb Bread from How It All Vegan. Oh wow…this bread is good! I used a mix of white whole wheat flour and whole wheat flour. I also omitted the raisins and nuts and added an extra half cup of soy milk. It turned out deliciously soft and moist…close to cakiness, but still savoury because of the herbs. And it smelled fantastic! My only problem with it was that I was being all sensible and not scoffing the whole thing at once and it went off really quickly. I stupidly didn’t put it in the fridge and it’s been about 30c here so I’m not really surprised…doh! Next time I’ll freeze half as soon as its cool!

Now on to the exciting news… Well it’s exciting for me and Wee G, perhaps no-one else… :) We are moving home to Scotland on 20th June! I am so excited and can’t wait to see all our family and friends, especially my 4 month old niece! We have been here for just over 3 years and while we have had so many good times and done so much we are both ready to go back home. So now I have to get packing and organising…don’t you just love moving?!

Simple Vegetable Soup
(makes about 6 servings)

Ingredients
½ large leek, chopped
1 medium onion, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
3 medium carrots, diced
2 small white potatoes, peeled and diced
3 tsps vegetarian bouillon powder/paste or 1½ stock cubes
5 cups water
1 or 2 bay leaves
½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 cup frozen peas, defrosted
1 cup plain soy milk

Directions
Place leek, onion, celery and carrots in a large pot over a medium-low heat with a few tablespoons of water. Cover and allow to sweat for about 10 minutes until vegetables are soft, stirring occasionally. Add water, potatoes and black pepper and bring to boil. Turn down heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add soy milk and peas and heat through. Remove around ¼ of soup from pot and blend in blender or food processor. Return blended soup back to pot along with rest of soup. Best if left for an hour or two before serving.