The closest thing to this in my lifetime was when in 2001 the foot and mouth outbreak saw the government close a lot of regular footpaths and parks, which meant I was able to find new places to walk closer to the home I lived in at the time.
The present scenario has brought a similar opportunity as it has allowed me to discover lots of new paths, within easy walking distance of my home, for the Dogg and I to exercise that few people seem to know of. This in turn means we get our daily exercise at a safe distance from anybody else and there is no risk of us causing what the state might term irresponsible harm by not following their social distancing rules.
In one such place I found an enormous colony of Primroses growing on an embankment above a decaying railway line. They glowed luminously in the late spring light like the lines of an iridescent yellow marker pen dancing off an otherwise bland page of writing.
Different times have called for different recipes. My emphasis is not so much on cooking for pleasure but more on cooking recipes that are nourishing, are able to last some time and they can be made pretty cheaply.
Today's recipe is a type of soup that ticks all those boxes.
On the player while making this soup was Nick Drake's final record, 1973's Pink Moon. Despite being around 26 minutes long he says a lot in a short space of time. The record contains sparse acoustic guitar and piano and is a classic case of less is more. Aside from the familiar title track, which was used in a car advert, you have the hypnotic chant of "Know" and the expansive "Things Behind the Sun" and "Parasite" as well as the assertive "Road". I got this record for my twenty-first birthday after I had just finished my first degree. My professional life, what little of it there was at that time,was at a crossroads just as it is today.
In recent months the Dogg and I have made some connections with the Mysterious East. A Mysterious East that is just twenty minutes' drive away in normal circumstances. One thing I do know about this situation is that in the fullness of time the events that are unfolding will make this connection much stronger. The soup recipe is one taken from these connections and is as follows:
- Leaves and Stems of four Beetroot chopped finely.
- Four Sliced Shallots.
- Teaspoon of dried Oregano.
- Teaspoon of Garlic Salt.
- Half a pint of Vegetable Stock.
The method is as follows:
- Fry the Vegetables and herbs gently for twenty minutes in cooking in a Le Cresceut or a deep frying pan or wok.
- Add the Vegetable Stock.
- Simmer for thirty minutes.
Despite this recipe being seemingly nothing more than the leftovers from some Beetroot I baked with a shoulder of Gammon, the soup is full of natural goodness from the leaves and stems while the Oregano and Garlic Salt give it a real kick. The batch I made is enough for several helpings that have lasted a few days already. The soup is also surprisingly filling compared to a lot of the tinned dross that ignorant, self-centred delinquents have foolishly panic-bought from their local supermarkets.
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| All the goodness- the soup ready to serve and steaming away. |
