Boo! I know it is a cliche; I am English, and I am banging on about the weather. The reason us Brits are so obsessed by the weather in my opinion is because our weather is so unpredictable. It has been cold for a month now. I just went away for a few days camping, and was blessed with some warm sun and no rain, but now I am back home and it is COLD. So cold in fact that I have made warming soup and put the heating on...
So, for all of you out there who may be feeling the same, and for anyone reading from the southern hemisphere, here's a little recipe to warm up a cold summer's day.
Lentil and chickpea soup with ginger, coriander and tomato.
This is a pretty simple soup, I don't measure things out - add my ingredients to suit your taste. I am vegetarian, so this one ticks the boxes for me. I use two types of lentil, and also chickpeas, so there's a good mix of proteins in with all the vitamins.
Firstly, fry some chopped onions in a little olive oil with some cumin seeds, turmeric and dried coriander. Next add some sliced carrot, and cook a little more. Next up are some tomatoes, either a ton of fresh, or canned is fine too, and the larger of the lentils. I don't bother to soak these - life is too short, and I find it unnecessary. I used a handful of green and red lentils for this soup; if you're using the same then make sure you cook the green for about 15 mins before adding some red ones, as they take longer to cook. During this time, add some water, grated fresh ginger, chopped fresh garlic, and I used a huge handful of fresh coriander and a large green chilli. After the red lentils went in, I added a sliced leek, salt and pepper, and a tin of chickpeas.
Pretty much that is it - just cook it until the lentils are tender, and there you have it. I found that it wasn't quite spicy enough for my taste, so I added a couple of little red chillis too. Add salt and pepper to taste, et voila!
I am also hoping that all that goodness will tempt my voice to come back, as I lost it recently. If you find it, please return it to me!
So if you're feeling virtuous, or having this for lunch, I love it followed by a jasmine tea, but if it is to be eaten at night for dinner, then I can recommend a lovely glass of red. If you fancy some bread with this then my personal fave is a wholemeal pitta, but it's great on its own too :) Enjoy!
Lentil and chickpea soup with ginger, coriander and tomato.
I am also hoping that all that goodness will tempt my voice to come back, as I lost it recently. If you find it, please return it to me!
featured in this post on decor8 blog this week!!! Yay! I cannot say what a huge compliment this is to me - for any of you that haven't seen it, it is a blog well worth following, and always has gorgeous interiors, products and photos. I know it sounds cheesy/sycophantic to say this, but it really is one of my favourite blogs!! The author of the blog, Holly Becker, and columnist Leslie Shewring, write posts that are really inspiring, and the blog as a whole just oozes creativity. So a big thank you to them for placing my bird bowl in a place that has inspired me so much - I'm seriously touched!
And a little preview of my new colour in my set of three flying ducks, Flock. What do you think? I like the way that the reflective silver finish emphasizes the texture of flock wallpaper imprinted into the surface, and think the colour might work well in kitchens and bathrooms.
After that it was a civilised dinner and glass of wine, and then came Sunday's fun at Eurocultured street festival in the city centre...
Loved sneaking a peek at people's sketch books, and watching the artists painting, especially with a lovely beer or two and some good friends :)
There were some great artists there as every year, and it's great to see the wall pieces still there later in the year, brightening up what would otherwise be a pretty dull stretch of road in the city centre. There was some great music on too, with live artists and DJs. Great to see Manchester has so much to offer!
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