Waste not want not -Pea-pod soup

Waste not want not 

My peas are finally ready for picking well truth be told I have been picking them for the last week and eating them raw while I’m in the garden.The peas were picked for Sunday lunch with roast chicken but I was I was left with the lush green pods that smelt so good and it would have been a shame just to stick them in a composter so decided to make
Peapod soup 



And it could not of be easier and really tasty
 All I needed was

1 onion (chopped )

2 oz. (60 g) butter
1 large potato, peeled and sliced (mine came out of the garden)
A pint of Chicken stock & Vegetable stock (I used a mixture of both but if you want to use all vegetable then it won’t make much different and vice versa)  
Big handful of left over peapods (Roughly chopped)
Salt and pepper to your taste 

Place the butter and Onion in a saucepan and allow to soften. 4 -6 minutes

Add the potato, stock and peapods and bring to the boil and then simmer for 20 minutes.

Take of the heat and place it in an electric blender and purée (go careful very hot).

Then place the soup though a sieve to remove the pod fibres.

Taste and season 

And serve or place in fridge and have it for lunch the next day. 

Baked Smoked Haddock Creams with Lemon-dressed Leaves

Baked Smoked Haddock Creams with Lemon-dressed Leaves

I first came across this recipe in 1992 when the Mail on Sunday was giving Delia Smiths recipes cards out each week.

It’s a tried and tested recipe, which I have cooked over and over again.

Delia recommends it’s as a starter but I think it great as a main course with a few new potatoes and instead of one I have two.

I’m serving mine with lettuce from the garden

Mixed Lettuce 

I have got salad potatoes but I wanted to leave them another week before pulling 

Salad potaoes need a little longer

 But they are great as a starter as well as you can cook them the day before and even make the dressing the day before.

You will need

8 oz (225 g) smoked haddock, preferably undyed

1 bay leaf

5 fl oz (150 ml) milk

5 fl oz (150 ml) double cream

3 large egg yolks

1 level tablespoon chopped chives

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Black pepper

For the lemon dressing:

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1  tablespoon wholegrain mustard

1 teaspoon  Sugar

black pepper

Remove the skin from the fish by making and place the fish in a saucepan with the bay leaf and some pepper, pour in the milk, bring it up to a simmer, then poach for 5 minutes with the lid on.

Remove the fish to a plate, separate it into smallish flakes and divide them equally among the six buttered ramekin dishes.

Add the cream, egg yolks, chives and a little grated nutmeg and whisk them together thoroughly, add the hot milk the fish was cooked in make sure you don’t add  the bay leaf, this can now be chucked  then pour the mixture over the fish in the ramekins.

Ensure the fish pieces are not sitting on the bottom so use a fork to lift up the fish pieces.

Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and cook on a high shelf (mark 3, 325°F (170°C) for 25 -30 minutes until they are set in the centre and the tops are golden brown.
So if you are making them in advance allow them to cool and place in the fridge

Then the next day place back in the oven (mark 3, 325°F (170°C) for 15 minutes

The take them out of the oven 10 minutes before serving 

allow to stand before serving to allow them to harden up

The dressing,
Place all the ingredients into a jar shake it well. Done (This dressing also goes with many different salads )

I serve them on a bed of salad and asparagus and new potatoes

To serve make a bed of salad and run the blade of a knife round the edges, tip each one out into the palm of your hand and turn it the right way up again on to a plate. And add the dressing

Warning very hot not the easier thing to do but it does make it look good  

A Main course

If serving as a starter just the one would do

Summer feeling

I’m trying so hard to remember this is summer and we are in July, but this gives me hope.

Sweet peas & Strawberries 

Picked in the garden at the weekend

Some Sweet peas for the house they smell so lush and look so pretty and the more you cut the more flowers you get as it encourages more growth.

And some nice red strawberries, now I’m currently picking and freezing these at the moment as in a few weeks time I’m having a party and want to make a summer fruit pudding.

I just had to get my lilies in the picture as they are so pretty.