How to make Leek and Potato Soup (Vegan friendly)

 Leek and Potato soup is always  a Christmas staple. The reason being that leeks are in season from  November onwards, so not only do they taste at their very best then, but they are also in abundance around this time. They should be reasonably priced too! Leeks are low in calorie and also belong to the same family as garlic and onion. They are also good for arthritis and gout and bladder stones ouch! This is also a very easy recipe to make and tastes delicious. Again serve it with crusty bread.....

Here is the Recipe

   

How to make Celeriac Soup (Vegan friendly)

What is celeriac? For those of you who don't know, it is the large root bulb of the celery plant. This is why this soup tastes like a sort of much creamier and thicker celery soup. It's a very good winter soup because it's especially thick and warming. It has a look of semolina when its out. The root can be hard to peel, it's best to cut it in half but maybe peel it with a potato peeler first. Then cut chunks off it. Don't make the chunks too large because you want them to cook through. If you smell it it does have a slight celery smell, though it does look like an old skull or something from Doctor Who, with the tendril bits coming off it. Try it out, I am sure that you will like it, and it's the crusty rolls yet again to serve....

Here is the recipe

How to make Minestrone Soup (Vegan friendly)

Minestrone soup should always contain some sort of pasta. Here we used spaghetti cut into short strands. Then you can add anything that is left in the fridge. Courgettes whatever, just an even mix of vegetables. Then use parsley as the herb here. Always use the garlic, onion, potato and tomatoes as the base for the  minestrone though. Crusty rolls at the ready!

Here is the recipe

  

Quick Jacket Potato

Jacket potatoes although very tasty usually take an hour in the oven to bake.
Then, one day, after scouring various bargain stores, I came across a tool that said you could make a great jacket potato in the microwave in 7 or 8 minutes.
So i tried it.
This tool turned out to be fantastic, and the quality of the potato wasn't very far removed from an oven baked one, so we started using it quite frequently. Try it yourself from Amazon here
In this recipe we added mature cheese and beans, although you can fill them with cauliflower cheese or chili from this channel too, or anything you like!
My personal favourite is cheese, beans, and coleslaw on top when it is cooked!
If you have a favourite combination do let me know...

Here is the recipe

The Dab Barm cake

This a traditional Lancashire thing. A Dab in Lancashire is a thinly sliced, about 4-5mm wide, piece of a large potato. This is then dried on a tea towel or kitchen roll, and then dipped in batter mix and deep fried until golden. It's a chip shop thing!
We like this one served on a buttered Barm cake, with a piece of iceberg lettuce, a slice of onion and a dollop of mayonnaise. Be sure to splash on a little more vinegar and salt when you put it on the bread. Currently we are working on a tasty chip shop style batter mix to fry them in at home. We will be sure to keep you updated on how this works out.

In the meantime here is the recipe.

Fresh Spinach Soup

This is a really easy to make and very tasty soup - with just sunflower oil, onion, potato, vegetable stock, pepper, cornflour and spinach in it. Ideally use the spinach the first day you buy it. Some packs are pre-washed, some are not, so always check the labels.
It is also one of the first soups I made, and it is a great hit at dinner parties as everybody who has tried it loves it. All good soups start with a similar base, usually potato, onion, and sunflower oil or butter. Don't use vegetable oil, sunflower oil is far superior both in taste and texture. My daughter at the age of five said this was her favourite soup, and it still is even now. Spinach is chock full of vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants, and because it is related to beetroot it is full of nitrates which can help improve blood pressure and flow.

Here is the recipe