Yesterday I went for a sole (yes sole not soul) searching walk with my husband. We went on my current favourite walk across the downs. It was an extremely beautiful autumnal morning so we walked quite a long way. Instead of wearing my trusty crocs I thought I would put on a pair of socks (unheard of for me) and my very old walking sandally type shoe thingys (you will see what I mean in a minute). Anyway, as I said we went quite a way and my shoes were FINE. However, on the way back they began to biodegrade. They are truly recyclable. Despite valiant attempts, that Ray Mears would have been proud of, my only option was to take the inner sole out (which I had to keep putting back in to my shoe anyway). I then managed the rest of the walk wearing my shoe flapping about but with the inner sole firmly stuck inside my sock. Unbelievably the socks survived despite having been tramped upon on the gravel, pathways and road. The shoes, however, did not! (This photo is for Marilyn!)
It was still worth the effort though!
I hope the sight of my shoes hasn't put you off but I thought I would share with you my favourite soup recipe. It is easy peasy. It is very cheap to do. I buy all my vegetables from the weekly market in town so the tomatoes are in fact quite cheap. (I get at least 6 carrier bags of fruit and vegetables for about £20 - £25 depending upon what I buy). It isn't the spinach that gives you Popeye arm muscles its flipping carrying the stuff to the car!
It involves a jar of red peppers though, which LIDL sell. Way before the credit crunch I have used this store for the more unusal ingredients and some of the cheaper ones too. They usually have a great selection of continental cheese (great for Book Club) and my kids love going there as it reminds them of going round a Menorcan supermarket (our favourite place to holiday - the island of Menorca not LIDL!). If you haven't shopped at LIDL before dont bother taking a shopping list - it is rather more pot luck. Anway, they do a great jar of red peppers that have been skinned and are fab for this soup:-
Red Pepper and Tomato Soup
2 chopped onions
Olive Oil
Any form of tomatoes, chopped roughly (or nicely if you prefer!)
1 vegetable Oxo cube
A squidge of tomatoe puree
A sprinkle of mixed herbs (or anything else herby)
1 jar of red peppers (see photo) - approx 89 pence & contains 10 whole peppers - so vg value!
Salt and Pepper to taste
Hot water to cover all the ingredients
This is so easy:- fry the onion then just add everything else to the saucepan. Cook until the tomatoes are soft. Leave to cool. Blitz with a hand held blender.
For identification purposes this is what you are looking for in LIDL! Please note paprikaschoten this does give the soup a nice spicy quality, which is perfect for an autumnal meal. Serve with a sprinkle of grated cheese and some nice wholemeal bread rolls. (Someone I know told me today that they had recently bought a large (I think they mean enormous) pack of 48 bread rolls in Tesco at 3 p each - blimey guess what they have got for breakfast, lunch and tea!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Sorry to have bored you - back to normal tomorrow.
