During the block of snowdays recently, we did a lot of baking and soup making (see Our Snow Days Became Baking Days – Is The Gym Open Yet?), the kitchen became a hive of activity, partly to keep warm and partly for something to do! I’m going to attempt to post some of the recipes; I hope I can remember, or at least decipher the brief notes we scribbled down at the time! I always think the photos will be enough, or my Instagram posts listing the ingredients, but then I forget the quantities. So bear this in mind and don’t take the recipes too literally if you try them.
This soup came about because we had a butternut squash from our organic veg box that had been waiting a while to be used, but it was small, and I had bought some much-reduced leeks that needed using, plus there were a couple of cauliflower florets left from Sunday, when we’d used the rest of it, and the middle bit of a bunch of celery. They turned into a lovely warming soup on a freezing, snowladen day. My husband also made bread rolls that morning, which you can see in the photo, but they weren’t gluten-free, so I’m not featuring them here.
This soup is full of healthy ingredients and is anti-inflammatory. (Butternut squash provides vitamins A and C, B6, potassium, magnesium, iron and calcium, as do leeks). No cream or butter, just a little coconut oil.
As always, the recipes are vegan and gluten-free, organic where possible.
Makes enough for 4 servings.
Ingredients
Coconut Oil for frying
1 Small Butternut Squash, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 Leek, trimmed, washed and sliced (keep as much of the greenery as is usable)
2 Cauliflower Florets, chopped
3 Large Carrots, scrubbed and chopped (peeled if not organic)
The middle stalks of Celery with leaves, chopped
Approx. 1.5 Pints Vegetable Stock, with 1 Tsp Yeast Extract dissolved in it
Half a Tsp each of Cumin, Ginger, Turmeric & Curry Powder
Black Pepper
Pink Himalayan Salt if required for taste when cooked
Method
Melt the oil until hot but not smoking
Add the spices and all the veg, mix well, add black pepper, place the lid on and sweat for a few minutes on a low heat, stirring occasionally
Add the hot stock with the yeast extract, enough to cover the veg
Replace the lid, and cook on a low heat until the veggies are soft but not mushy, stirring occasionally.
Blend with a stick blender, leaving some texture to it, taste and adjust the seasoning
Serve with warm rolls or flat bread
Copyright: Chris McGowan
I had them with some vegan spread (I rarely use it, but when I do I use Pure), and St Dalfour Strawberry Spread, which has no sweeteners at all.
An unusual topic for a Monday Meditation, but if left to my own devices, I find baking a very meditative occupation.
I let it thaw for a couple of hours – it doesn’t look very appetising, but it tasted good. I then devised the crumble topping.
Mix together the flours, sugar & oats, rub in the spread with the fingertips until it resemble thick breadcrumbs.
We had it first with coconut yogurt and then next morning, having got up late, we had it with homemade custard while we sat huddled in front of the woodburner!
I spent an entire week confined to barracks because I can’t bear the minus temperatures and icy winds, or risk a fall on the ice. My husband couldn’t go out on his usual bike rides and we’d also chosen this week to have the hall parquet flooring restored, which meant open external doors. We had blizzard conditions here and the woodburner was our best friend. So was the oven. We spent the whole week cooking, but mostly baking, and if the weather doesn’t improve soon, I’ll be needing a bigger size in jeans!
My husband made bread rolls (and next day a wholemeal loaf), I made a Mango & Raisin Crumble with Oaty Topping, some Scones from the leftover crumble and some Curried Squash Soup! The next day I made a Coconut Cake.
On Friday morning, my husband walked the mile to the gym in snow and icy winds for a spin class, but the only exercise he got was the walk there and back and the half hour in between, clapping his arms around his body trying to keep warm! The class was cancelled due to the snow, but the instructor was unable to contact him. He did get a free session out of it for the next week, though.
I keep rescheduling this post because the weather insists on returning to winter temperatures! Plus, I think the colour and the fact that it has spinach in it may put you off. If I hadn’t written ‘smoothie’ in the title, you would probably have thought it was soup!
Having spent all Sunday afternoon composing 
When almost done, sprinkle on a heaped teaspoon of vegetable bouillon powder and mix in, adding the peas and sweetcorn and a little more lentil water. Cover.
We are in the middle of some arctic weather, with snow, hail, icy winds and below zero temperatures, so I thought I’d post a recipe for a nourishing soup to warm us up, rather than the frozen smoothie bowl I had planned!
Serve with fresh basil leaves and warm bread or toast, or you might like to try 
Our son and youngest grandchildren had been here all weekend and much as we love them and we have great fun, there is always a lot of tidying up of toys, books, games etc. and stripping of beds afterwards. Come dinner time, we were all ship-shape but tired, we wanted a quick and easy dinner.
Heat the oil and stirfry the broccoli without burning it, add the peas, the tamari, black pepper, mixed beans, water, a squeeze of lemon, maple syrup, half of the carrot, cover and cook for a few minutes.
When life is relatively calm, ie no family crises, and I find myself alone with no urgent tasks, I like to sit down and just let my mind wander where it will. I might close my eyes and just wait for my breathing to slow, or I watch the birds, or just take in my surroundings: the paintings, the family photos, the gentle flames of the woodburner.
I rarely follow a recipe, or if I do, it’s more of a starting point that inspires a variation of the original, as with these no-added sugar energy balls. I fancied a little something with my cup of tea and didn’t really know what the result would be, but on looking in the cupboards I found some Tiger Nut Powder that needed using and remembered a recipe on The Tiger Nut Company Instagram page for 
We first made these 2 years ago when I discovered the basic recipe at 
pearsnotparsnipsdotcom 
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