Smoky tomato soup and recent cooking

There has been quite a lot of cooking lately at Chez GGG.  Today I want to report on a few golden oldies that are worth repeating.  I am trying to resist the blogging urge to try new recipes - though there are many to tempt me - and return to some favourites.  I like the stories that go with food and am going to tell a few that weave their ways around what I have made lately.  I also love my new recipes and have one for a smoky tomato lentil soup at the end of the post.

Roast potatoes, roast beetroot, brussels sprouts, chickpeas and other vegetables went into a lovely rogan josh.  I made it before heading off on an interstate trip last week.  A vegetable filled curry was just what I needed before heading into the culinary wilderness of travel.  I took a photo of the sandwich that I had on the plane (above).  I ordered a vegetarian meal and got one of the worst plane meals ever - roast vegetables on gluten free bread.  Curiosity made me taste it but I didn't eat much.  Cold soggy gf bread is never ever a good idea.  Ironically the best meal of the trip were the freshly cooked chips at the airport before flying home.

Back home Little Dolly still loves Sylvia's food.  You can see her here with one of Sylvia's bracelets arranged to make her look like she is wearing superstar sunglasses.  This week I've made mock turtle slice, potato scones, split pea soup and potato bread.  Great comfort food for the cold weather.  Every time Sylvia has had a slice of mock turtle slice, Dolly must have one.

Sylvia is starting to learn that if she doesn't eat her broccoli and cauliflower there is no piece of slice after dinner.  Yet, today I spoke to a dietician about calcium in Sylvia's diet and asked if condensed milk had much calcium in it.  Only after I asked the question did I realised it sounded like I was giving her condensed milk by the spoonful rather than the occasional piece of slice with condensed milk in the topping.

On the weekend we went to Sylvia's cousin, Baby A's, first birthday celebration.  This was a quiet barbecue with family and friends before the kids birthday on the weekend.  The cheesecake birthday cake was delicious.  Erica made gf chocolate caramel slice for the gf members of the family but it was loved by all.  Lots of great food, though the kids loved the giant bag of cheezels from Costco.

I took along some Zimsterne biscuits.  I reduced the sugar to half a cup but baked them a bit long in the hope that they would go golden brown.  Sylvia loved them and I thought there were worse things she could eat than biscuits full of ground nuts.  

E and Sylvia couldn't get enough a dancing cat.  They are both suckers for anything feline.  I was just happy that it hasn't made its way into our house.  My favourite part was watching the kids open the presents.  Baby A is a bit young to get it but she managed to do the wide eyed, open mouthed look of delight at her presents.  Sylvia gave her a cuggle of Little Dolly but was very excited to see that Baby A got her own Dolly among the presents.  She keeps telling me that Baby A has a purple dolly.

Lastly I made a smoky tomato and lentil soup recently.  It was adapted from a soup that Mel made. I had a bag of hydroponic tomatoes from the Kinglake Farmers Market that needed to be used.  No doubt the good tomatoes contributed to the excellence of the soup but I must also acknowledge Mel's wisdom in adding enough lentils to thicken the soup to make it substantial without overwhelming it.

I made the soup one night prior to my friend Kathleen coming for lunch.  It was just what we needed on a cold autumn day.  A casual lunch.  Nourishing but not too distracting.  We always have lots to catch up on.  Good food is a way of letting visitors know they are welcome.  Especially helpful when Sylvia was running around, as we ate, asking when Kathleen was going.

Sylvia had eaten earlier.  But she does find it hard to concentrate on a meal without wandering off to feed dolly or "do a few things".  When we ate the soup for dinner she was treating the kitchen table as a tunnel to crawl through.  Probably just as well to take my mind off my terrible adaption of Ricki's Muffins with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Green Onions (my fault for making too many substitutions).  They were edible but too dry and didn't go with the soup.  Just not a recipe to repeat.  Unlike the soup which I intend to make again as soon as I have some extra-ripe tomatoes.

 Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
This time last year: NCR Zucchini Salad and a Digression
This time two years ago: GF Apricot and Cranberry Cake
This time three years ago: Polenta Quinoa Sticks with Rhubarb Sauce
This time four years ago: Gingerbread in a cookie

Smoky tomato & lentil soup
adapted from Veganise This
Serves about 6

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 small onions (or a leek), chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
2 small parsnips, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1kg fresh tomatoes, chopped
2 cups stock
2 cups water
1 bay leaf
handful of basil leaves (I didn't have these but wish I did)
1 heaped tsp stock powder
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 cup red lentils
pesto to serve

Heat olive oil in a large stockpot and fry onions, celery, parsnips, carrot and garlic for about 10 minutes over low heat or until softened.  Add tomatoes, stock, water, bay leaf, stock powder, paprika.  Check seasoning.  Bring to boil and simmer for about 15 minutes.  Add red lentils and simmer another 15 minutes until lentils are soft.  Discard bay leave and blend soup until smooth (I used a hand held blender).  Stir through a spoonful or two of pesto before serving (or add as a garnish to individual servings). 

On the stereo:
Ballads: The Moody Blues