Delicious, easy, anti-inflammatory ginger turmeric carrot soup

So first of all, let’s just talk about a ‘self-retreat day’.

Well, it’s like a retreat, but at home, and also just doesn’t need any planning or thinking about. You can choose to do it any time really, although of course a nice clear weekend day without plans will be easiest.

I don’t even know if this is what she was thinking but I was chatting to Jessa on Saturday morning and she said the words ‘self-retreat’ and I just decided there and then that that was what I needed right away, that same day.

Another friend, Leah, asked me what I meant by a ‘self-retreat’ and so I’ll just share the answer I gave her:

“My definition is a day or however long you decide when you only do what feels amazing and nourishing for you. I had an appointment with my osteopath today and so had the most amazing back and neck and hip massage.

Then went and bought vegetables and had a good long walk.

Made soup.

Read and wrote.

Napped.

Had thought I might do yoga and clean the house (or even just wash up!) but nope neither are feeling amazing today so I’m going to take the dog out soon and read in bed.’

THAT was my self-retreat Saturday.

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Sooooooo … anyway ….. onto the aforementioned soup.

It’s easy, really easy, and very delicious and also super healthy and anti-inflammatory and I just felt I needed it for nourishment and extra gut-healing stuff (having only just got better from six weeks of suffering with campylobacter - honestly, you’ll remember that weird name forever should you ever get it. NOTE - don’t be like me, don’t be cavalier with the tap water when abroad).

I made enough soup for a couple of big big bowls so up to you if you think this is a recipe for two people or for one (er, I decided one needed all the health and nourishment for oneself).

To make it, you’ll need:

Lots of garlic - maybe 2-3 cloves - squashed, peeled and minced

One red onion, diced

A good piece of turmeric root, peeled and grated (peel by scraping off the skin with a spoon otherwise you’ll lose loads of the flesh if you use a peeler)

Approx 1 litre boiling water

1 chicken or vegetable stock cube

A good piece of ginger, peeled (with a peeler) and grated

Lots of carrots - I had five good sized ones - peeled and sliced

Some fresh thyme leaves - but only if you have them, otherwise just leave out

A small head of cauliflower, cut into florets

Salt and pepper

Fresh parsley to serve

First, the garlic and red onion sautéed in olive oil.

Then add the boiling water and stock cube and tip in the grated ginger and turmeric and the carrots. I added some fresh thyme too just because I had it.

Simmer for ten minutes then add a small head of cauliflower cut into florets.

Season with Himalayan pink salt (or sea salt) and freshly ground black pepper.

Simmer for around 20-30 minutes - stir occasionally - when it’s done remove from heat and add fresh parsley.

Taste and add more seasoning if needed.

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Thai prawn + ginger noodles

This is a lovely recipe - it's a BBC Good Food recipe, shared with me by a friend and the original recipe is HERE if you'd like it.

I love the sauce made with red curry paste, orange juice and zest - so good, and such a great idea.

I did adapt it a little and because I hate precise measurements (and don't think they're needed with this way of cooking) I've made them a little bit easy-going :) 

What else did I just adapt a little?

First, the noodles - the recipe calls for sen lek -  lek means small so the original uses thin noodles.  I prefer the wider rice noodles so that's what I used - my message as always is to use what YOU choose.

Whichever you choose, soak or prepare the noodles according to your pack instructions, so they're ready to stir fry.  Always run your soaked noodles under a cold tap until they're completely cold to stop them going gloopy and sticky.

Oh and beansprouts - I don't really like them so left them out, but I'll add here in my recipe where to add them if you're using them.

The only other thing is basil - in my opinion this should say Thai sweet basil (horapha) as Mediterranean tastes totally different and won't work at all. So I'd say if you can get Thai sweet basil, then that would be amazing, but if you can't just leave it out, and don't use Mediterranean basil. 

And the coriander - I know a lot of people don't like it so if you don't, don't let that put you off this delicious, simple dish - just don't add coriander! It's still going to be very, very good.

OK, so I thought I'd try this one out just for me to see how I got on with it before I make it for anyone else, but now I can't wait for tomorrow dinner to cook it! 

For my one portion, so just double for two, I used:

Some lovely rice noodles, soak or prepare ready for stir-frying, according to pack instructions

Zest and juice of half an orange (zest first before halving - not being patronising, just making sure no-one else is sometimes as dizzy as me)

1/2 - 1 tablespoon red curry paste, depending on the strength of your brand of curry paste (you don't want it overwhelming but you do want to taste it)

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 teaspoon Demerara sugar (I didn't have any so just used white granulated)

1 tablespoon water

2 teaspoons cooking oil, or cooking oil spray (I used 20 sprays)

A small piece of fresh ginger, about thumb-sized, peeled and grated (it makes about 1 teaspoon)

I large garlic clove, squashed and minced

1/2 red pepper, sliced

a handful of mange tout or sugar snap peas, halved lengthways

a handful of beansprouts - optional, if liked

a few prawns, however many you want to eat, I had 7

a handful of Thai sweet basil, chopped - if you can get it - if not, just leave out

a handful of coriander leaves, chopped - optional, if liked

Stir together the orange zest and juice, red curry paste, fish sauce, sugar and water to make a sauce and set aside.

And get the other ingredients ready to go.

As I'd used the grater for the zest, I used it again to grate the ginger - which I prefer to having larger pieces, but am usually too lazy to get the grater out! (and yes I realise that that really IS lazy) - anyway that's why my ginger and garlic has little flecks of orange in with it!

Put a pan or wok over a medium heat, add the oil and then 2/3 of the ginger/garlic and fry, stirring all the time for 30 seconds or, as all Thai recipes say, 'until it smells good'.

I added a tiny splash of water too as garlic burns so quickly and wanted to make sure that didn't happen.

At any time in your cooking if it needs loosening a little, just add a splash of water. It's good to cook when things are moving fluidly and happily.

Add the red pepper and cook for another two minutes, stirring all the time.

Then throw in the sugar snap peas or mange tout and after stirring to ensure everything's mixed add the curry sauce mix.

I turned up the heat a little and added a splash more water and when it started to simmer, turned the heat back down to medium and added the prawns (add the beansprouts now too if you're using them).

Cook until pink - about two - three minutes - then throw in the last of the ginger/garlic, stir and add the noodles.

Stir to combine and make sure the noodles are hot, then remove from heat and serve, topping with coriander if using.

I really, really like this!

Great flavours - and one I'll be making again (and again).

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Lamb (leftovers) stir fry

I love a good roast dinner.  Lamb is probably my favourite - and my step-mum makes possibly the best roast lamb ever ... it's testimony only to the size of the lamb that there were leftovers at all!

We had the roast lamb last Sunday with mint sauce - of course - and roast potatoes and vegetables and an incredibly good gravy.

And on the Monday evening I made a simple stir fry with the leftovers (even simpler for me as my dad had done the work slicing all the meat into small-ish strips). 

I really like using fresh mint leaves in this - it's a sort of nod to the mint sauce of the day before.

We had enough lamb to serve four as a stir fry with rice.

Here's what you need:

1 garlic clove, minced

1 red chilli, finely chopped

1 stalk of lemongrass, outer tough parts removed and finely chopped

1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and minced

Some chopped vegetables-  we had peppers and mushrooms

2-3 spring onions, sliced

cooked lamb, cut into strips or diced

fish sauce

light soy sauce

zest and juice of a lime

a handful of coriander leaves, chopped

a handful of mint leaves, chopped

rice, to serve

Heat a pan, add a little oil and when hot, tip in the garlic, chilli, lemongrass and ginger and stir over quite a high heat, moving the ingredients around in the pan constantly to prevent burning.

After about 30 seconds, when it starts to smell good, add the chopped vegetables and a little splash of water, enough to loosen it and make it easy to turn in the pan.

After a minute or so, add the cooked lamb, a couple of sloshes of soy sauce, one of fish sauce and the lime zest and juice, and continue cooking until the lamb is hot right through. 

Do taste and taste and taste as you add the sauces and lime - add half in first, stir and taste, before adding the remainder of each so you can check you're happy with how it tastes. If you think it's a bit too sour, just add a pinch of sugar.

When it's all ready, throw in the fresh herbs, immediately remove from heat and stir in to wilt.

And that's it! 

Serve with rice .... this is such an easy delicious dinner - I do hope you try it!

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