Broccoli and Roll over you

 One of the great joys of Lockdown has been the discovery of growing my own vegetables from scratch. After nursing some Ironman Broccoli through a very cold winter, which involved a lot of night time gardening after work, I harvested it just as the clocks changed for British Summertime and then soaked it in hot water to ensure it was clean. 

We decided to use the Broccoli in some soup with an unconventional ingredient:

A head of Fresh Broccoli that's been homegrown.

One large White Potato, peeled and cubed. 

One hundred and twenty-five grams of fresh Garden Peas. 

A quarter of a pint of Beef Stock. 

One hundred and twenty-five grams of Edami Beans something that doesn't normally get associated with these kind of ingredients for a soup. 

Some Charcoal Cheese, we sourced ours from Stretton Hall Farm Shop at Stretton Hall Farm Shop | Facebook

We also went for something a little unconventional in our soundtrack with the all girl punk band the Slits jagged and wonderful album "Cut". Check it out at: The Slits - Cut (full album) - YouTube 

This Soup was deceptively simple to make as follows:

1. Sweat the Broccoli and Potato in a Le Cresceut for around twenty minutes on a medium heat. 

2. Add the Peas, Edami Beans and Beef Stock and simmer for a further twenty-five minutes. 

3. Blend the soup and sprinkle some Charcoal Cheese in it before serving. 

Broccoli and Potato are known to go together well and the  freshly picked Broccoli certainly dominated this dish while the fresh peas made it feel like summer was not far away. The Edami beans also offered a gravelly texture and a lot of protein. 

#sourkrautsausage

 A line from the film "Lawnmower Man" about "taking my work back underground" heralded the start of the Prodigy's Second Album "Music for the Jilted Generation". The record is a mix of claustrophobic and tinny garage that is interspersed with some epic, sweeping ambience that foreshadows clearly the music of such present artists as Darren Styles. Although it was released in 1994, it's an album that still sounds like it could have been released yesterday. Check it out at: The Prodigy - Music for the Jilted Generation full album - YouTube

It was on the player as we decided to make a Sour Kraut recipe using some Cabbage that had survived through the winter months. It was to be served as a side with some grilled Sage Sausages sourced from Stretton Hall Farm: Stretton Hall Farm Shop | Facebook and some home baked bread. 

The full ingredients are: 

Five large leaves of a green Garden Cabbage, shredded finely. 

Three Diced Shallots.

Three Diced Cloves of Garlic. 

A fresh Yellow Pepper, we picked one that had been growing in the Conservatory, that has been de-cored and sliced thinly. 

Two tablespoons of Caraway Seeds.

A tablespoon of Brown Sugar.

Half a pint of Beef Stock. 

The method is:

1. Fry the Garlic, Shallots, Pepper, Brown Sugar and the Caraway Seeds for ten minutes until the Shallots become caramelised. 

2. Add the Beef Stock and Cabbage and simmer for around twenty minutes until the Stock has been absorbed into the other ingredients.

3. Serve as a filling to the Sausage Sandwiches. 

This take on Sour Kraut comes from a Bavarian recipe and is sweet but not too sweet because of the earthy Caraway Seeds while the Cabbage had a wild taste and texture that is only found in homegrown Cabbage and gets lost in the supermarket version.