Leek & Potato soup

Who doesn't like a good soup particularly now that the weather has turned. Supermarkets sell good carton & tinned soups but nothing beats home-made soup for flavour and value, all for minimal effort. Go on anyone can make this.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon each olive oil & butter
• 2 - 3 leeks
• 1 Onion
• Potatoes 2/3rds the weight of your leeks
• 1 carrot
• 1/2 chicken/vegetable stock cube
• 750m off boiled water
• 250m milk for mere mortals or cream for poshies
• chives for decoration (optional)

Add your oil/butter to the pot and heat slowly until the butter has melted. If you want use all oil or butter.

Next chop the ends of leeks, waste little, roughly chop and rinse the remainder under the tap to get rid of any dirt and add to the pot, cook gently for a couple of minutes. Chop your onion and add. Dice your potatoes but not too small as you want some of these to remain whole and add to the pot. Finely chop your carrot and into the pot. Add some salt and give it all a good stir to coat and cook gently for 5 minutes.

Grate in your half of chicken/vegetable stock cube, add the water and simmer for 20 minutes. 

Add your milk and give it all a good stir and simmer for about 15 minutes.

This should now be cooked, taste and add salt/pepper as appropriate.

I blend about half the soup to give a mixture of textures.

Finely chop some chives for decoration and taste.

Brilliant, easy, quick & tasty.

Keeps well in the fridge for a few days or freeze some for another day.

Get stuck in.

Marinated Salmon with Chinese stir fry noodles

The only time taken in this recipe is the marinating of the salmon but you can stir fry prawns, chicken etc with the noodles for a quick meal.
Like most stir fries they are far tastier and healthier than packet or take away versions.
Of course you can add and change the vegetables to suit your cupboard.

Ingredients for 2:
For the marinated salmon see previous recipe in the blog.

• Cooking oil
• 1 red or yellow pepper
• 1 small onion
• 4 good sized button mushrooms
• 1 pack ready to wok soft medium noodles
• Soy sauce
• Walnut/Sesame oil

The salmon takes about 15 minutes to cook in the oven at 200.

First heat your wok and pour in a tablespoon of cooking oil and add your finely sliced pepper. Keep stirring but cook for 3-4 minutes as the pepper is the firmest of your vegetables.

Now add your chopped onion and stir fry for another 3 minutes.

Add your finely sliced mushrooms and stir for a couple of minutes.

The mushrooms will soak up most of the liquid.

Now add a good splash of soy sauce and some walnut/sesame oil to add flavour.

Add the marinade from your salmon and you now have a sauce.

Finally add your noodles and cook for 2 minutes.

Taste and season if required.

Enjoy