Saturday 22 August 2020

Come again another day!

Rain, rain go away.   I don;t expect Derek down there in Kent is saying the old rhyme  - down there on the Isle of Sheppey they seem to be getting one day of heavy rain and then a couple of days of heat and drying wind and they are back to square one again - drought. But up here in The Dales we do seem to be having Autumnal weather quite early.   It is only nine in the morning and in the two hours since I got up we have seen the whole gamut -gloom, rain, sunshine, gloom again and we have just had a downpour - sun about to come out again.  One thing is sure - the men will not be back to work on my patio this morning.   I shall be back to write more later but have just realised I have a Zoom coffee morning with the 'girls' at ten so shall have to get showered and dressed, so see you later.

 

We had a pleasant Zoom meeting - all six of us there this morning and I have another Zoom with my niece scheduled for tomorrow - the wonders of modern science.   How much harder lockdown would have been before the days of computers, television and suchlike.   Although what we have never had we would never have missed so I am sure we would have entertained ourselves just as well.

 

There will be no going out for Percy and I today because the wind is still far too strong.

Reading through my Good Housekeeping magazine which came yesterday I saw that this month's tests had been on Soup Makers.   I switched on my computer late yesterday evening intending to buy myself a cashmere jumper for winter and then had a bright idea.    I have not filled up my car with petrol since before lockdown.   Instead of buying a cashmere jumper to add to my collection, why not buy a  soup maker instead.   No sooner said that done and now, sometime this week, well in time for Autumn and Winter (soup days) I shall be using my new machine.   I have always made a lot of soup but now, having a machine to come to my aid , the world's my oyster.  Anyone got any good soup ideas please?

25 comments:

David M. Gascoigne, said...

A soup maker is a new term for me. In the fall I start to make several different soups in quite large batches so that we have a stock on hand for the winter, but I do it the old fashioned way. When we go for a walk on a cold winter's day it is quite wonderful to have a bowl of hot, steaming soup for lunch and to know that it was made from scratch.

Derek Faulkner said...

With that regular rain and sun Pat, I'm sure that the fields near you will be full of mushrooms pretty soon and they make a lovely soup combined with some cream. I'm sure if Monty Don came your way that you'd impress him far more with a good home-made soup, than wearing a new cashmere sweater.

Joyce F said...

Here in the US I had not heard of a soup maker either so went to Amazon to see what you were talking about. Think I will stay with my Instant Pot, slow cooker and top of the stove soup kettle. I make big batches and freeze in meal size portions for my husband and I. Summer or winter I have soup in the freezer.

The Weaver of Grass said...

David and Joyce- this soup maker just makes the soup from scratch - what you put in in the way of vegetables is what you get at the end. And yes - I have made soup for years in a saucepan on the hub - I just fancied making it another way.

Derek - thank you for providing me with my laugh for today!!

Rachel Phillips said...

Sounds like another skill being lost. Like when calculators were invented people lost the ability to do mental arithmetic.

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

I found myself watering all my planters this morning - dried out already from the wind and sunshine of the last couple of days after the rain we'd had earlier in the week. When things get such a soaking I tend to think that it'll last forever! Enjoy your soup-maker; my brother has one but I tend to rely on a saucepan and a hand-held blender, which does much the same. I always think that the real fun of soup-making is just throwing in any left-over veg and seeing what happens.

Anonymous said...

I have a soup maker and it's great. I resisted for a while, telling myself it was cheating. However I was at my daughter's for lunch and we had some wonderful soup, made in her soup maker. I ordered one as soon as I got home and have used it loads. Enjoy it, it's fun.

Sue in Suffolk said...

No rain in Suffolk and what we had last week has been dried up by the wind and sun so it's back to watering the beans again.

Anonymous said...

We have one we use at school, Pat, and it is fabulous. We take it in turns to take in the ingredients and then share the soup between 4 of us. I highly recommend leek and potato soup, the Winter Vegetable recipe from soupmaker.club website or Thai Carrot with Lemongrass from the Olivemagazine.com website (which I cheat and use lemongrass paste in). We also make up Roasted Vegetable soup recipes so the soup is different every time but always wonderful. We have had mixed success with lentils (which often seem to burn onto the bottom of our soup maker) but I don’t think you can beat a good lentil soup so perhaps your newer model will not have that problem. Enjoy your new toy. It seems that it has turned to soup weather already so you will be able to get the most out of it.
Helenx

Derek Faulkner said...

I wouldn't of said making soup was a skill, just a matter of bunging a load of stuff in a saucepan, heating it until soft, mashing or liquidising it and it's done. One could also say that writing blogs, texts or E-Mails has meant that we have lost the ability to write letters.

Rachel Phillips said...

It was a joke.

Anonymous said...

Are you familiar with split pea soup? Usually add bits of ham, sometimes carrots and potatoes, too.In cool weather, because it is thick, rather than thin like many broth based soups, it makes a comforting and hearty meal.-Mary

Bonnie said...

I love the Autumnal weather. That and Spring are my two favorite seasons as it gets really too hot here in the summer. Autumn is certainly good soup weather too, as you mentioned. I've never used a Soupmaker. I wonder if it is similar to a Crock Pot/Slow Cooker? I love homemade soup in cool weather. Enjoy the rest of your weekend Pat!

Jules said...

I made some carrot and butternut squash soup yesterday, just used what I had left in my fridge. The last few days it has felt like autumn is creeping in. X

justjill said...

You are always busy! I would love some of your soup. Also your report on the soup maker. The DP does all the cooking now he enjoys it and says I did my bit for years so its ok!

Heather said...

I love homemade soup and plan to keep my freezer well stocked this winter. I haven't heard of a Soup Maker but will look out for one.
I think we have all had enough rain now - it was pouring again when I opened the blinds this morning, but did brighten up on and off for the rest of the day.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Interesting what you say about calculators and mental arithmetic Rachel - I totally agree. In my school days we had ten mental arithmetic questions first thing every morning and woe betide us if we got them wrong )same goes for spellings too) I still don't use a calculator - I didn;t even use one in the days when I did the farm books.

Joanne Noragon said...

A soup maker is a new device on me. I was going to look up Pope John 23, but maybe I'll check soup makers instead.

LaurelB said...

I enjoy cauliflower soup with a spoonful of fried pancetta sprinkled over when served. This was a new recipe to me but was served to us on a visit to my husbands cousin in Wales. Totally delicious, and I serve it with fresh, hot bannock.

This is my first comment to your blog, which I enjoy very much. I live in Canada, on the prairie, and am a not so secret Anglophile.

Laurel

Cro Magnon said...

Are these the 'Strugglers' you speak to on Zoom? I'm still in the dark ages, my soup is made in a pan; creamy Leek and Potato being my favourite.

potty said...

As long as The Recipe does not include homemade stock I love my stovetop soups. Do soupmakers cut down the amount of steam in the kitchen?

Fifitr said...

I eat soup at least 300 days a year so I should probably invest in a soup maker, shouldn't I? I've very much enjoyed your blog during lockdown - sometimes the minutiae of life are all the more fascinating. I always make a soup from the cauliflower leaves when I have a cauli, the flavour is more intense than the curds and it saves waste. With a potato, a couple of stock cubes and an onion it makes several bowls of very economic soup. I say stock cubes but I usually get the Knorr liquid stock, as it's much easer to get precisely how much you want in the recipe without winding up with half stockcubes wrapped in fiddly bits of foil. Other favourites are courgette, tomato and walnut (the Cranks cookbook recipe), 'cream' of spinach (a bag of frozen spinach, a potato, an onion, stock... you can see where this is going can't you?) which I serve with lots of grated nutmeg and a swirl of soya cream, and spicy squash soup (a roasted squash, skin and all if it's butternut, a tin of tomatoes, a tin of white beans and a tin of coconut milk plus as much chilli sauce as you like, all whizzed together). But to be honest a lot of my soups are made from the leftovers of last night's dinner with a few additions so we have a lot of 'sort-of-minestrone' and 'kinda-mulligatawny'. Then there are the ones made from handfuls of any greens in the garden in summer (known affectionately by my husband as 'pond soup' as it's often rather dark green in colour!)

The Weaver of Grass said...

Fifitr- Thanks for all the ideas - plemty to go at there. The Cranks recipe book takes me back forty years or so when my son lived in London and Cranks restaurant was all the rage - fantastic food.
Cro - No, Strugglers have note met since lockdown - we all miss it.

Thanks everyone.

Poppy Q said...

I love leek and potato too. Quick and easy and few ingredients and tasty. I occasionally make it with a bit of bacon too. Carrot and corriander is another option.

Julie

ILLUMINATI GRAND LODGE® said...

INVITATION FROM THE ILLUMINATI ORGANISATION 666

This is an open invitation to everyone that is interested in becoming part of the world's biggest conglomerate and reach the peak of your career. As we begin this year's recruitment program and our annual feast of harvest is almost at hand, so we decide to introduce you to the "New World Order".

At this point, we're assuring anyone who is ready and faithful to become a member of this great organization, that once he/she becomes a full member of the Illuminati brotherhood then will automatically become rich, powerful and be famous in life and achieve all their heart desires and also receive a monthly salary of $500,000 USD. We are ready to change your life, we can make your dreams come true.

The great Illuminati district offers you a life time opportunity of making your heart desires come true. I believe everyone on this planet "Earth" knows about the ILLUMINATI, but for those that don't know much about this Organization, I'll brief you about it. The Illuminati is a secret society that bless man kind and fulfill his/her dreams of becoming a millionaire, billionaire and also promote their various business. At this moment, I believe you've know more about this organization and there's no reason to be afraid of anything.

I'm not here to mess with you or play games with you because as it stands now there are lot's of people out there who Impersonate us, claiming to be members of the ILLUMINATI. So the Brotherhood then comes to conclusion of Globalizing this organization in order to help those who are actually ready to become part of this Great Family and those that were misleads by Impostors. Now i believe this is your opportunity to join our prestigious Organization and make yourself and your family proud.


If you're interested in joining this Great Organization, then contact our Grand Lodge at Pennslyvania, USA via our official Email: illuminati666grandlodge@gmail.com

Signed: GRANDMASTER