A group of members and friends had a lovely walk in and near Overton, Jenny organised lovely sunny weather and we had a great lunch afterwards at The Greyhound, Overton. We are promised that Jenny intends to plan walks for us for the next few months, so that is something to look forward to. Thank you Jenny.
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The new year started with committee members serving 5 different types of homemade soup in a mug with a roll . Resolutions for Liverpool annual meeting in June were discussed. There are 6 resolutions and each member voted on one. Support for women’s refuges was chosen, second was equal access in the country for maternal health services and third was alleviating loneliness. These results will be coordinated in Hampshire and then sent to the National Federation for debate. There was a bring and buy stall, to recycle unwanted Christmas gifts, and an exhibition of winter photos. Some members talked about the photos they brought in too. New programmes for the year were given out so this is a good time for new members to join. We continue the monthly coffee morning at the Beech Arms on Tuesday January 24th.On Thursday 19th January there is a walk around Overton followed by lunch at The Greyhound. In March there will be a lunch at BCOT. On March 7th there is a chance to experience being homeless at Eastleigh along with other Hampshire members. On the same date members can find out how to prune roses at Godshill. A member had spent a weekend at Denman learning how to use her sewing machine. She enjoyed it so much she has booked a follow on course for the summer. Another member is going to Denman to be guided round the Ashmolian Museum. A bring and buy sale was held in aid of Denman at the meeting. The next meeting will be a talk by a HCC trading officer about nuisance telephone calls. There have been requests for the recipes for the soups so here are some of them: Carrot & Coriander soup, from BBC Good Food Ingredients 1 tbsp vegetable oil 1 onion, chopped 1 tsp ground coriander 1 potato, chopped 450g carrots, peeled & chopped 1.2 litres vegetable or chicken stock Handful coriander (about ½ a supermarket packet) or ⅓ of a box of frozen coriander) 1. Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion, then fry for 5 mins until softened. Stir in the ground coriander and potato, then cook for 1 min. Add the carrots and stock, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat. Cover and cook for 20 mins until the carrots are tender. 2. Tip into food processor with the coriander, then blitz until smooth (you may need to do this in two batches). Return to pan, taste, add salt if necessary, then reheat to serve. TOMATO SOUP (taken from The St Michael Freezer Cookery Book) Serves 6 50g/2oz butter 100g/4oz bacon, rinded and diced 225g/8oz onions, peeled and chopped 1kg/2lb tomatoes, skinned and roughly chopped 2 teaspoons cornflour 300ml/½ pint chicken stock 1 bay leaf Pinch of nutmeg ½ teaspoon sugar Salt and freshly ground black pepper Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the bacon and fry gently until just turning colour. Add the onions and tomatoes. Cover and cook gently, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Stir in the cornflour and gradually add the chicken stock, stirring constantly. Add the bay leaf, nutmeg, sugar and seasoning and bring to the boil. Cover the pan and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the bay leaf and put vegetable mixture through a blender or sieve. To freeze: Cool quickly and pour into rigid containers, in usable quantities. Cover, seal and freeze. To serve: Turn the frozen soup into a saucepan, add 300ml/½ pint chicken stock and reheat to boiling point. Taste and adjust the seasoning. A little concentrated tomato puree may be added to enhance the flavour. Serving suggestion: Garnish with toasted cheese croutons. Slow-cooked Root Vegetable Soup Ingredients You can vary the veg you use and the quantity (It's a good way to use up left over veg). 225g peeled and sliced carrots 225g trimmed and washed leeks 225g peeled swede, cut into 5 cm pieces 1 onion chopped 3 pieces of celery trimmed and cut into pieces. 3 bay leaves salt and pepper Chicken stock tub of cream (or Greek yogurt you can use what every cream you prefer) Method All you do is place everything in a casserole and bring up to simmer then put the lid on and simmer gentle for 1 hour or put the casserole in the oven gas Mark 2 for 2 hrs until the veg is very tender. Remove the bay leaves and liquidise the veg. Finally stir in the cream or yoghurt and sprinkle with chives if you like. Mushroom Soup Serves 4 1 onion 1 stick celery 10oz (275g) mushrooms Oil ¾ pint (450mls) vegetable stock ¾ pint (450mls) milk A pinch of dried basil Black pepper A little flour Chop onion & celery, gently cook in oil Wash mushrooms in salt water, rinse & chop Add mushrooms to onion & celery Fry lightly for a few minutes, stir frequently Stir in flour Gradually add vegetable stock and milk, stir Add pinch of basil & pepper Bring to boil, then simmer for at least 15 minutes Cool a little Blend with a hand blender until smooth Vegetable soup http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/goodvegetablesoup_73412 By Sophie Grigson From Veg Talk Preparation time 30 mins to 1 hour Cooking time 30 mins to 1 hour Serves Serves 4-6 Ingredients For the base ingredients 2 tbsp olive or sunflower oil, or 30g/1oz butter 1 onion, peeled and chopped 1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped For the aromatics 1 bouquet garni and/or 1-2 fresh red chillies, de-seeded and chopped (I did not use this) or 1 tsp or more curry paste or curry powder or spices, e.g. cumin, fennel seeds, cinnamon, etc (I did not use this) For the main ingredients 1 potato, or other thickener if needed, peeled and cut into chunks 500g/18oz vegetables, prepared as appropriate and roughly chopped (I used turnips, swede, parsips, carrots, leek & kale) For the liquid 1-1.5 litres/1¾-2¾ pints) vegetable or chicken stock, or vegetable cooking water, or a mixture of water and milk Seasonings salt and freshly ground black pepper Method 1. Heat the oil or butter gently in a large saucepan, then add the base ingredients, the aromatics and the main ingredients. Stir around to coat everything in the fat, then sweat very gently for 10-15 minutes. 2. Add 1litre/1¾pints of stock or other liquid, saving the rest for thinning down (if necessary), and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring up to the boil, then simmer gently for about 20 minutes until all the vegetables are tender. 3. Liquidise in several batches, and return to the pan. Thin down with the reserved stock, water or milk as required, and check the seasoning 4. Reheat when needed. |
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