Saturday, June 23, 2012

Soup the Loop Anyone?....

Hello there, how's your weekend going so far?
When you look out the window do you see any of these?

☀ ☁ 

Here's the view from my kitchen window today.....
Cloud, cloud and more cloud.
Earlier this morning there was fog followed by a snippet of blue sky, a smidge of sunshine and then it all went grey and gloomy.......





 And when the gauge doesn't get over 10 deg.....



I know it's time to.....crank up the 'beast'




Bang about with pots and pans and get some soup happening.

Pea and ham soup and Grandma's creamy, cheesy soup which is absolutely, lip smackingly delish........ 
Enough for dinner tonight and several containers in the freezer for the coming week......




When everything is bubbling away and doing what it has to. It's time for this.....
A good coffee, the May edition of English Country Living and
a comfy spot by the heater.





Oooh, wouldn't I love to claim this pic as my garden.....
sadly it's not the case but a photo from my magazine.
One can dream though...




Somebody else who likes to do a bit of dreaming...
when I'm not sticking a camera in his face, hehe....





It's been a mixed week here.
I headed into the great outdoors on Monday and armed with various gardening implements, 
I dug, weeded, raked, hoed, pruned and planted......
There was a lovely feeling of satisfaction at the end of the day.

I could see a distinct improvement in the garden, but there is still more work to be done.
I planted Hollyhock, Pansy, Poppy and Foxglove seedlings.
I hope this will add a bit more variety and colour to the garden come the warmer weather......

What about you?.......

Does cold or warm weather send you into the kitchen?
What have you been doing today? 

I hope your weekend is going well, thanks for popping by girls.....
It's always lovely hearing from you.

Take Care,

Claire ❀❀❀




Recipe for Grandma's Cheesy Creamy soup


Soften in butter, one grated carrot, one finely diced onion and a stick or two of celery.
Remove from saucepan and make a white sauce you know the sort with a butter and flour roux.....
2tbsp butter and 3 tbsp plain flour etc.

Add enough milk to make a thick sauce.
 Grate in 4oz/250gm of cheese.
We use the Kraft cheese (blue box variety) that is found in the supermarket shelves, not one from the chilled dairy cabinet.
But obviously, you can use any sort of cheese.
Allow cheese to melt, add softened veg and add one cup of chicken stock or as much stock to get it to a consistency you like.


Season to taste.....


It doesn't make alot of soup and as this is sooooo yummy it will disappear quickly so if you want to, just make a larger quantity of white sauce to start with.


♥♥Enjoy♥♥


19 comments:

  1. Hello Claire,
    It grey and windy here too! You do seem to have been very busy, the cheese soup sounds very nice. I love cooking when its cold and there is always plenty of cake around for my boys to munch on. When its warmer they have to raid the fruit basket. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. now that soup sounds really wonderful. Does it have a veggie base or chicken stock? I look forward to hear the progress of your hollyhocks. I've never seen a stove like yours. Is that sort of like a modern aga?
    xx
    julie

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dear Claire,
    It's been that kind of day here too! It felt summery for all of five seconds and then the clouds came! It has certainly felt more like soup weather than salad! And I fear tomorrow its going to rain!
    June

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Claire, I like you get some rest by the heater! It's hot in here and the weather makes you wanna go the beach! My week was a bit tiring, because I have exams on Tuesday, but I took a small break crocheting a small case!
    Have a perfect day,
    Angeliki

    ReplyDelete
  5. Dear Claire, the summer in Greece can be really hot -and it is the last few days- and its very difficult to spent much time cooking...you only want to make a salad and drink cold drinks...
    soup is a no-no!!! i cant wait to see your garden growing....have a great weekend! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Claire! Looks like a very relaxing weekend with you there! Cooking, having a coffee and reading by the fireplace is a perfect day for me to unwind. But for me not this weekend, so much house chores to do as I've have been very busy this whole week painting inside of one of the cottage on our property.

    Hopefully I can go soon to my vegie garden to do the same as you did to yours. I wonder if all of those flowers you have mentioned is okay for me to planted in our cold winter climate at the moment at Southern Tablelands of Australia?

    Thanks : ) Ning

    ReplyDelete
  7. I have lovely large north facing windows in our main living area here and, while we haven't got your fabulous views (being on a suburban 1/4 acre block) we can snuggle up inside for baking and knitting while enjoying the winter view. If the sun comes out it streams in through the windows in all its glory, and if it doesn't we watch the clouds roll by, from West to East, grateful for our indoor warmth.

    Yes - must get out to the vegie patch soon and see what's still growing amongst the weeds - picked some beets for roasting the other day and I think some broccoli might not be too far away from being ready.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I've been cleaning my icky basement this weekend, but thankfully it is now done and over and I settled in for some hooky time this evening. Looks so nice and cozy your way. I do so love a chance to make a big pot of stew or soup and just let it bubble and simmer. Makes the whole house smell like a haven.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Looking out the windows I see lots of grey cloud too and the odd bit of drizzle now and then..............
    Plenty of rain this week so have been doing lots of sewing and quilting and at night sitting by the fire hand-sewing and knitting............
    Weekend Dinner Roast Chicken and a couple of glasses of wine....
    This afternoon its soup making time(chicken and sweet corn)a loaf of banana bread and then a brisk walk with the dogs.....
    Did i say how much i LOVE your cooker !!!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Claire, sounds good to me, you can't beat soup on a cold day. We seem to be doing the same here in the UK. Tad wet and windy here right now, with flooding oop north.

    Sherwood Art show is doing well inspite of the wet. We also hope for sunshine for Father in law's birthday party this afternoon.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Mmmmm! Sounds yummy!!! I think it would do wonders for my cold/sinus problems. Must give it a try.....
    Carly
    x

    ReplyDelete
  12. I would too like that garden...ours is a little colourless at the moment...we have just planted some little colour...even some fox glove. It has also been cold so soup is being consumed too. xx

    ReplyDelete
  13. You could have been talking about the weather here, and it's supposed to be Summer! I think we hit the heady heights of 15 degrees yesterday.

    The cheese soup sounds delicious, I shall have to try that.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi Claire, you have such a wonderful view from your kitchen window! Wow!
    Your 'beast' would keep you so cosy, as well as making your food taste just that much better. We've never had one, but have enjoyed being in family's homes who have... oh, those roasts and cakes ;D)
    Seems the work in our gardens never cease, but it's such good exercise both physically and mentally to get out there and in them isn't it.
    Lovely catching up with you again, enjoy your week and cheerio for now xx

    ReplyDelete
  15. I like the sound of Grandma's Cheesy Creamy Soup! It's been so cold and damp I've been craving soup, luckily as I have a problem with my jaw that's making chewing difficult. Glad to have another recipe to try, thank you x

    ReplyDelete
  16. You have a gorgeous view to look out onto Claire. We've been enjoying lots of soup here too I like the sound of that cheesy soup, it's been sooo cold hasn't it. I hope you're keeping nice and cosy today. :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Claire your cat photo is awesome! what a snuggly looking cat.
    Weather here has been lots of rain and then the odd perfect day. The Mosquitos are out though....
    And my favorite the glow bugs!

    Soup is definately a cure all :-}

    Lorraine

    ReplyDelete
  18. the cheese soup has comfort food written all over it..
    the view from your window has so much space, who cares if its cold!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I LOVE this post! it's so comforting and your "beast" is wonderful. May I come on over for a bowl of some soup? I only wish I could actually do that. Your kitty cat is adorable. Don't you just love orange kitties? thanks for stopping by my blog and saying hello, I appreciate that. Your blog is lovely. happy day to you Claire.

    ReplyDelete

Life's busy isn't it?......thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.
I love hearing from you and will reply via email unless you are set up as a
'no reply blog'
in which case I will reply here on the comments page...♥

Thankyou xx