Growing your own veggies and herbs is great, and they certainly without fail always taste far superior to what you buy in the supermarkets. But of course, that then means you have to find a use for them when ready.
I like growing leeks as I always pass on a few to my sister, but I have limited recipes that actually use leeks (I sometimes get flummoxed by vegetables you can’t roast). Out of the recipes I do have, this one is far and away the best, assisted largely by the fact it has a lot of pig in it. So without further ado: Big Angry Trev’s Bacon, Leek & Potato Soup
Ingredients
8 rashers of bacon, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 leeks, sliced
3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1.5L hot vegetable stock
150ml thickened cream
Fresh parsley
Cracked pepper
Method
Chop up bacon, fry up half until crispy and put to one side
Put stock in pot, heat but do not bring to boil.
Chop up onion, sauté it with remaining bacon in butter until golden.
Add sliced leeks and diced potatoes to pan, cover and cook on very low heat for 5 minutes, shaking pan occasionally.
Take bacon & vegetables from pan and stock from pot and combine in large pot, bring to boil.
Simmer concoction for 20 minutes covered, stirring occasionally.
Let mix cool. Take mix and put in food blender. Puree mix.
Pour mix back into warm pan, slowly add cream and stir until warm.
Put into bowls, top with fresh parsley, crispy bacon and cracked pepper.
Everyone gets headcolds – everyone! Well, not vampires, zombies and people who prefer Beast Wars to Generation One maybe, but that’s because you need a soul to get a headcold (I’m not sure of the correlation but somehow the soul lowers your immune system, odd but true). But for the rest of us a headcold is something we are guaranteed to get at least once a year if not more. So to beat it – and I don’t mean cope with it, I mean kick its phlegm-producing-arse – here is the DEFINITIVE GUIDE on how to show this virus the door!
No no, I’m fine – really! Cough Cough
You will need the following items and consumables:
ITEMS FOR YOUR RECOVERY ROOM
*1 Bed with Electric Blanket
*1 Television, DVD/Blu Ray player and associated media
*Wake up – feel crap. Blow nose. Ring in to work sick. Throw cat outside.
*Put on electric blanket. Make toast and a glass of juice.
*Make Soup – whilst it is heating, set up your Recovery Room.
*Make Lemsip – go back to bed, watch morning news.
*Get up, collect bowl of soup for lunch. Put leftovers in slow cooker set to ‘warm’. Go back to bed and consume soup.
*Put bowl back in kitchen. Use the toilet. Blow nose. Let cat in and collect DVD’s.
*Curl up in bed with cat, put on DVD, set vaporizer going.
(Note with Entertainment: Do NOT give yourself access to the internet! You will spend the time checking your social profile updates rather than resting. Also, do NOT watch Horror, Action or Porn DVDs – the idea is lower your heartrate! Ideally you want something you enjoy but have seen before. Think of your viewing choice like watching the Test Cricket on Boxing Day – it’s interesting enough you don’t get too bored but it’s slow and bland enough that you can easily fall asleep in front of it.)
(Extra Note: If you insist on reading instead of watching mindless films, make sure the book is likewise one you have read before and enjoy – you do not want a page turner keeping your brain active using up what vital energy you have.)
*Nap throughout afternoon in front of movies, the steamer helping you breathe and the electric blanket and cat helping you feel cozy and drowsy.
*Get up around dinner time and have second bowl of soup with toast. Feed cat and throw outside. Blow nose.
*Watch whatever is on TV (Do NOT watch Reality Television! This has nothing to do with being sick – reality TV just sucks is all and you are suffering enough already!)
*Pour generous glass of scotch on rocks with a twist of lemon – it warms your insides and numbs you nicely! Pour a second if not warm and numb enough.
*Refill steamer, use toilet, blow nose, bring cat back in, sleep.
Follow these instructions precisely and you should be feeling much better the next day. If not – go see a doctor – chances are you have polio.
I love making chicken soup for my family when they are ill. It warms the cockles and all other heart related areas, provides nourishment and comfort and, most importantly, tastes damn fine!
However when you are ill yourself, you probably don’t have the energy to go collect fresh silverbeet and parsley from the garden (heck, it’s possible you don’t even farm your own produce!), nor the patience to chop up raw chicken and slow cook it for 8 hours. So here is the easy-peasy version you can make yourself with minimal fuss to get you back on your feet.
Ingredients:
2 x 500gm cans of Creamy Chicken Soup
1 x 460gm can of Mixed Vegetables (potato, carrot, peas & corn)
1 cup of fusilli pasta
2 stalks of fresh celery
1 x sprinkle of freshly ground pepper
1 x sprinkle of fresh coriander
Method
*Pre-boil the pasta and set aside
*Chop up the celery into small chunks
*Put the two cans of soup into a pot, add the vegetables and pasta
*Put on the lowest possible heat on the stovetop and let sit, stirring every 5 minutes or so. If you have the heat low enough it should take about half an hour for it to heat up.
*As soon as it begins to bubble, remove from stovetop. Do NOT allow it to boil.
*Pop in some pepper and stir. Leave to sit for 5 minutes.
*Ladle yourself a big bowl, sprinkle some coriander on top and go back to bed
So there ya go, home made chicken soup made easy! For those times you don’t have the energy to make the complicated version and your immune system and spirit need a much needed boost.
