So..we have started the workaways here at the busiest time of year in the vegetable seedling business. The big polytunnel is packed to the rim with trays and trays of baby vegetable seedlings ready to be shipped out to customers all over Ireland, the UK and this year for the first time, Germany.. It's a great time of year, suddenly the trays of dark soil which sat for a few weeks in February looking like nothing was really happening have become bubbling delights of greenery of various shaped leaves and shades of freshness. Every year it comes as a surprise that all the seedlings are ready to be shipped and I don't know why, it seems there is so much going on under the soil for a long time then suddenly the growth pops up for the next step in it's journey to become food. The calmness of nothing much happening in the polytunnel is overtaken with life and the earth moving in collaboration with temperature, moisture, bacteria and energy to create amazing things for the species that we are to survive and go on.
Sooo Andrew went out to clear the raised beds in the vegetable garden to make way for new food and in doing so , uncovered a whole batch of carrots hiding underneath the soil all winter. What to do with a big batch of carrots and parsnips?.. soup. Easiest thing. My youngest daughter who has displayed an interest in cooking got to it with a quick how to in making soup. Easter hols and a bit of spare time, so I gave out instructions .. she went and dug up a few leeks and got to chopping a lot of carrots and ginger..
Recipe, a few leeks, a lot of carrots scrubbed not peeled,(if organic), a good whole thumb size bit of ginger chopped finely or grated, pinch of cayenne pepper, salt,pepper.Tin of chickpeas or handful of red lentils.Stock.
We sauteed the leeks rings in butter very slowly so they didn't burn which they can do easily. You can cook these in ghee or spiced Tallow with tumeric and cumin. Either way don't let the leeks go brown, just nice and soft. Add the ginger, pinch of salt and twist of black pepper and push them around a bit, then add the carrots and saute them for another 5 mins. She then added enough hot water to cover veg plus another inch with a tablespoon of Swiss Marigold Bouillion powder. At this stage you can add a good handful of red lentils or a tin of chickpeas for protein. Put the lid on the pot and gently bring to a bubble. When it is boiling turn the heat down and let simmer until lentils and carrots are cooked. We used a stick blender to get it smooth and left some lumps in, although this last bit may have been unintentional..
We did this everyday with a few different additions, cauliflower, curry paste etc, for our workaway people's lunch who were from Oregon and the UK. They seemed to like them..clean bowls and requests for seconds is always a good sign..
