Hearty Soup

 

Thank-you everyone for all your wonderful and encouraging comments on my last post.  Sometimes we just need to step back from things for a short time to get a better perspective on things – my head is in a much better place now!

Although it has not been too cold the last few days it has been a bit wet and windy, so I made us a pot of hearty Scotch Broth to cheer us up.  I make up my own version of this traditional soup (recipe below) and served it with some crisp toast.

Scotch Broth soup

Unfortunately, son’s second pet rat (named Pepper) has now died and joined his brother in the Memorial Plot in our lawn.  Two new young rats will be joining us this coming weekend, but I probably still won’t touch them at all.  I can admire their personalities and even laugh at their antics, but I find I cannot bring myself to handle them.

R.I.P.  Pepper

It has been encouraging to see the first signs of Spring heading this way.  Buds are growing fat and we have even had a leaf burst on the grape vine.

A few years ago, I was given a bunch of narcissus blooms as a cheery reminder that Spring was arriving.   I can still smell their perfume when I look at this photo.

A cheerful assortment

Have a happy enjoyable day everyone 😊

Margaret.

SCOTCH BROTH.

Place around 400g lamb neck or shoulder chops into a large saucepan.  Add 6 cups cold water, 1 tsp salt, and 1 Tbsp barley.  Cover and bring to the boil.  Remove lid and skim off and discard any scum that has risen to the top.

Turn down heat and simmer for 90 minutes until meat is tender and falling from the bone. 

Remove meat from pot and set aside.  When cool, strip from the bones and cut into pieces.  Meanwhile, add 2½  cups chopped and/or grated vegetables to the broth and bring to the boil.  Turn down the heat and simmer for 60 minutes.

I usually use a mixture of vegetables such as carrot, leek, onion, swede, and celery.  I often also add a little broccoli or cauliflower to the mix.  If the meat was particularly fatty, I sometimes let the broth go cold so that I can skim off any congealed fat before adding the vegetables.

Add the meat back to the cooked vegetables and season to taste with extra salt and pepper.  Serve hot with toast or croutons, and a sprinkle of freshly chopped parsley over the top of the soup.

This soup makes about four servings, and I have successfully frozen it for up to three months.