Neeps & Tatties Soup

You might be wondering what in the world "neeps & tatties" are. Turn'eeps and Po'tatties, of course! I've been on a good-for-you soup escapade that has had some delicious results. It all started with a book by vegetarian cookbook author, Anna Thomas. Love Soup is my favourite book this week, but you may also know her by her very popular book The Vegetarian Epicure.

The first step to the soup is making a quick vegetable stock. I make countless pots of chicken stock throughout the year, but I rarely make veggie stocks. I think I've found a good reason to turn over a new leaf! For my veggie stock I used: onions (with their brown skins on for added colour), celery, carrots, leeks, fresh tarragon, 1 clove of garlic, parsley, and the stems from a bunch of kale. Cover all of the above with cold water and simmer for 45 minutes. I think the bunch of tarragon that I threw in really pumped up the flavour.

I must admit that turnips aren't my usual veggie of choice, but this soup is so much more than just turnip. It is savory and creamy and just plain good.

Neeps & Tatties Soup

2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
1 pound turnips
1 tsp fine sea salt
2 large leeks, white and light green parts
2 Tbsp butter
4 cups veggie stock
Freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbsp whipping cream
Extra virgin olive oil

Peel and chop the potatoes and turnip into half-inch dice. Place the potatoes and turnip in a large stock pot. Cover with 4 cups of cold water, and a teaspoon of salt, and bring the water to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for at least 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. 
Meanwhile, trim and thoroughly wash the leeks. Dice the white and light green parts of the leeks. Melt the butter in a large skillet and cook the leeks over medium heat, stirring often, for about 10 minutes. Add them to the potatoes and turnips and simmer another 10 minutes. Add the veggie stock.
Puree the soup in batches in a blender or with an immersion blender. Be careful not to overprocess. Return the soup to a clean pot and bring it back to a simmer. Taste the soup and add more salt if needed. Grind in plenty of black pepper and add the cream.
Bring to a simmer until it is just heated through. Garnish each bowl with swirl of olive oil.

Egg Nog

 For the Holiday Gift Class last weekend, we started with this blender egg nog based on one from The Essential New York Times Cookbook by Amanda Hesser. If you haven't seen this book yet, it is full of amazing recipes and Amanda's introductions to the recipes will have you hooked instantly. If you haven't made homemade egg nog yet, well, now is your chance. Seems that people either love egg nog or they hate it. I'm definitely an egg nog lover, but I prefer to make it at home where it's like drinking a lovely custard laced with rum. The great thing about this recipe is it's speediness. I needed to make another batch to do a photo shoot with (yes, I did feel slightly guilty for drinking rum by myself, before 11am no less, on a Monday morning) and I had the nog ready in a matter of a few minutes.

Egg Nog

4 fresh eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup rum (our preferred brand is Mount Gay)
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup whipping cream

First off - divide this recipe into two batches as one batch won't fit into a standard blender. Crack the eggs into a blender and process for 1 minute on medium speed. Slowly add the sugar and blend for another minute. With the blender running, add the rest of the ingredients until combined. Transfer the nog to another container, preferably with a spout, and repeat with the remaining ingredients. Refrigerate for at least an hour, or up to overnight.
Serve the eggnog chilled with fresh grated nutmeg on top.

Lemon Honeycomb Jelly

I think of church suppers as fertile testing grounds for recipes. I love the sign up sheets that go up on the kitchen bulletin board before big events. What will I make this time? For the roast beef dinner this past weekend, there was a sign up list to make jello salads, and I happened to have a couple of recipes that I wanted to try. This recipe is from More Home Cooking: A Writer Returns to the Kitchen by Laurie Colwin. I highly recommend both this book and her preceding book, Home Cooking.

The amazing thing about this recipe is the fact that you mix all of the ingredients together in one bowl and miraculously it separates into three layers. The bottom layer (which ends up on the top if you turn the jelly out onto a serving plate) is a yellow, clear jelly. The top layer is the "honeycomb" - a pale yellow, airy yet creamy layer that is very delicious. The middle layer is sort of a custard-y combination of the top and bottom.

Not only is this delicious, it's a great way for kids to enjoy "jello" without having the boxed stuff. It's been my experience that Jello makes my kids CRAZY. But this is purely anecdotal.

Lemon Honeycomb Jelly

3 eggs
Freshly grated zest of 1 lemon
1 envelope unflavoured gelatin
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup whipping cream
1 1/2 cups milk (or half & half)
5 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Separate the egg yolks and whites. Whisk together the egg yolks, lemon zest, gelatin, sugar, and whipping cream. Heat the 1 1/2 cups of milk (or cream) to just under boiling and whisk it gradually into the egg yolks. Set the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir the mixture until you have a thin custard. The custard will thinly coat a spoon when it is ready.
Mix in the strained lemon juice. Working quickly, beat the egg whites until they are stiff and fold them into the hot custard. Let the mixture stand for 4 minutes. Pour the mixture into a 1-quart mold or bowl and chill it, covered, overnight. Run a knife around the edge of the pudding, dip the mold in warm water for 10 seconds, and turn the pudding out onto a plate.

Roasted Purple Potatoes

How can I pretend to be a great gardener when I found myself digging up these stunning purple potatoes this week - in complete surprise and awe? Now I remember planting the little spuds, but that was so many months ago... And that area of the garden was also planted with an overabundance of carrots and lots of tomato suckers that seemed to pop up all over the place (except in the tomato area, of course). So, it's official. I'm a forgetful gardener. But next year I'll do better...

Roasted Purple Potatoes

Preheat oven to 400 F. Wash and dry potatoes thoroughly. Slice into thin wedges. Toss generously with olive oil and sea salt. Spread on a baking sheet and roast for 30-45 minutes, flipping occasionally with a spatula, until the wedges crisp up and turn a light golden purple. Serve immediately.

50 Pounds of Popcorn

We received a small package of popcorn in our veggie share last fall. It was really good popcorn. I'm not kidding. But was it good enough for my husband to order a 50 pound bag of the little golden kernels?? Apparently it was! I can't stop thinking about a little book I read in grade school called "100 Pounds of Popcorn". The kids involved had to come up with some crazy ideas for using all of the popcorn up. I think I need to find that book somewhere...

Stocking Up

I've been stock piling the fruit that I want to turn into jams and jellies when the weather gets a little cooler. These are the red currants that I picked, sorted, and froze yesterday. Don't miss the oh-so-small windows of opportunity that are here now!

Jemima Puddleduck

I just realized that Jemima isn't a duck at all - but her best friends are a couple of ducks that she shares a private pond with (thanks to Farmer Jones). She is one of the many birds and animals that we have been visiting this summer at all of our favourite farms!