Tuesday, September 30, 2014

HAPPY NEW YEAR AND THINKING AHEAD TO COLDER DAYS.

I wish you a good year, time to dream and time to enjoy each day. We have all had a week end of eating and drinking, enjoying cakes ,cookies and candies. Now back to the regular routine.
We suddenly have the weather change and feel the need for a good soup, perhaps a warm bowl of food, a casserole and hot meals .

Here are a few ideas to create winter ideas, for colder evenings.
Firstly reorganize your grocery cupboard. Prepare grains and soup ingredients. Do not rely on packaged soups, Do your own.
There are brown and orange lentils, whole-wheat rice, wild rice, barley, all kinds of beans, wheat, oats, soya products, dried green peas, dried mushrooms, garbanzo, chickpeas pastas and noodles.

You do not have to invest in large quantities. Better to buy for two to three weeks at a time. I take the dry goods and place them in air tight containers. I wash them well , when I use them and many need to be soaked overnight or for a few hours.

Create a collection of containers that are suitable for freezing. Not every kind of plastic is good for the freezer. Go into a reliable store and find medium size containers for cooked soups, beans and vegetarian dishes.

I buy small quantities of herbs and spices. Try to use as many fesh products as you can. Use frozen products when you haven’t enough time to create meals with fresh ingredients. I like to have peas and beans in the freezer.

BASIC VEGETABLE SOUPS.

You need a large pot and a variety of vegetables. Go for yellow, greens and sweet potatoes, white potatoes and grains and beans. If you want to use lentils, beans, wheat and barley, wash and soak for a little while. Use fresh parsley, carrots, pumpkin, onions, garlic, dill and good greens like zucchinis, celery and cabbage, broccoli and Brussels sprouts. Simply wash well and cut up, place in the pot of water, add vegetable salt and pepper. You can add a dash of curry, sweet paprika and a few herbs. Cook on a medium flame and let it boil for a few minutes, lower flame and let if cook until the vegetables are soft. Do not store until the soup is cool.
Freeze soups in medium size containers and thaw before warming up. There is an added advantage when reheating soups, just re energize them by cutting up a carrot, onion and a few grated carrots . Jus drop these into the pot. Looks great and tastes good. This is also when you can add a cup of peas or cut up beans from the freezer.

Serve soup in bowls, with cooked rice, a whole-wheat bread or slices of toast. Enjoy Love and light Rona

 
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