The non-recipe for soup

I've been cooking a lot of soup lately - it's getting on for winter, and it's a practical, warm meal that's also easy to freeze in portions for another time. I pondered the recipe, but there isn't really one to speak of.

Nevertheless, here is my attempt at instructions...

Melt some butter (or oil) in a very large pot. Brown up several chopped onions, a handful of chopped garlic, and a pound of beef mince or stir-fry (or any other meat really - or leave it out if you prefer).

When all that is cooked, you could put tomato sauce on it and serve over spaghetti if you like. But we're making soup here, so we'll add a kettleful of boiling water and a cup or so of barley (or lentils, etc.). Turn the heat down so that it is just bubbling gently.

While that boils, chop up your vegetables and add them in together with enough extra boiling water to cover them. I often use an orange one and a green one, such as carrot/silverbeet, or pumpkin/broccoli. Put in the harder one first as it takes longer to cook. No need to peel carrots or pumpkin as the skins do become very soft and edible when cooked. With broccoli, you can throw in the stalks and leaves and all, just take care to avoid the really woody bits that may be in the base of the main stem.

Oh, and the quantities don't matter. I just use whatever I have.

By the time you have your softer veg chopped and in the pot, the barley/lentils should be cooked through - test it out. Now you can turn the heat off and go do something else for a while.

When everything is soft and has cooled a bit from boiling, puree the lot. Salt your serving to taste, and add herbs if you like - oregano is very good with pumpkin.

I would have added a picture, but I ate it already! I'm sure you can picture it: smooth-ish, orange-greenish, thick and tasty... Might add a pic next time I have a bowl in front of me.

Meet Marcus Gavius Apicius

Marcus Gavius Apicius was a chef in first-century Rome, who liked to cook up weird and peculiar recipes. There is a cookbook attributed to him, and some of the recipes can be found here - with many sauces dependent on a kind of boiled and reduced wine. It's interesting to look at Roman recipes, but I don't know if I would ever try to make one!

Broccoli Salad

Food of kings. Or at least, it should be. I first discovered a variation on the theme in New Caledonia (thanks, Brenda!) and began making it myself earlier this year.

Now, I never used to be fond of broccoli. At all. Especially not raw - ew! But now I feel there's something missing if I don't have a bowlful every day.

So chop up as much as you think you can eat. Use the entire stalk, too - fabulous crunchy fibre. Chop 'em all fairly small, as you see above. Slice an orange into slightly larger chunks and mingle.

Then pour on a generous serving of plain yoghurt. I use the honey flavoured one above, but I've tried vanilla too and it works just fine. If you want to be really flash, use Greek-style and drizzle a little sweet chilli sauce over it.

Then the toppings: mostly a mix of nuts and seeds. Today I had approximately equal amounts of cashews, almonds, cranberries and linseed/flaxseed. Pumpkin and sunflower seeds are good too. I hear recommendations to add bacon and cheese - I'm not sure how that would work. My mix is perfect for me - it's really more sweet than savoury. If you took out the broccoli, it would be a dessert!

There's an art in the eating, too - make sure there is a bit of everything in every bite. Some green, some orange, some crunch of nuts. It's my new favourite lunch since capsicums got priced out of the market and since my frenzy for eggs has abated somewhat.

Raw broccoli takes a good deal of chew effort to get through. You really feel like you've eaten well!

...Oh, and yes, there are interesting things in my kitchen :P