Sunbathing and Soup!

Brrr, it's a bit chilly today but at least the sun is out, so someone has made the most of the fact that it's shining directly onto my bed! (BTW I know he's a bit fat just now, I think I've been a bit too generous with his food ever since he got over his last illness!! Naughty me! :-O ) 

Today's autumnal recipe is one I made up myself (I don't really measure

 things out, I just guess so the following recipe is approximately what I put in it!) - Butternut, Butterbean and Tomato soup! Serves four people.

You will need:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large butternut squash, peeled and diced into bite-sized chunks

1 onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 400g tin chopped tomatoes

1 250g tin butterbeans

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp dried mixed herbs

1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley

2 pints vegetable stock

salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Heat the olive oil in a large pan and gently sweat the garlic and onion for five minutes until soft but not browned.

Add the butternut squash cubes and cook one minute.

Add the tomatoes, puree, cumin, herbs, stock and seasoning.

Bring to boil and simmer gently for 20-25 minutes until the squash has softened.

Take the soup off the heat and blend it which will cause it to thicken. You can leave it a little chunky if you prefer.

Add the butterbeans and return to a gentle heat for 5 minutes.  Add fresh parsley and more seasoning if required.

Enjoy with granary bread and butter!

It's nice and comforting on a chiily day like this!

This afternoon I have been doing a little gentle crafting and my Christmas robin has made a reappearance!

See you soon!