Tuesday, November 15, 2011

There's Always a First Time.

Before I get on with my subject I want to say Thanks to those of you who always send me email replies when I comment on your blogs. It is very kind of you. Here I tend to reply either in the next blog post or in the same comments section where you lovely folk leave me comments. That's just the way I like to do it. I do so love hearing from you ALL.

There is always a first time for everything. For me making broccoli soup just happened this weekend because we had a surplus, and some were starting to get over blown. I hate waste, so what to do? Go on, be daring make some soup. So I did and Oh how pleasantly surprised I was.
 I admit while it was cooking I had serious doubts because of the smell. ( enzyme sulforane ) or "eau de public toilets." Apparently that is the part that is so good for us?
But it was delicious. I have googled the recipe and found several, so mine is a combination of most of them. I see some Michelin Star chefs make it, so Gordon Ramsey I did a little mild  swearing as I made it. Here is my very easy recipe. It would also be useful not just when there is a surplus but to make a head go a long way for many mouths.
 Broccoli Soup.
2 chopped onions                                 2 tblsps olive oil
I head of broccoli ( about 500 grams )    4 cups chicken( or vege ) stock
1/2 cup of milk,     pepper to taste. 1 cup grated tasty Cheddar cheese (or Parmesan )

Chop the onions and gently fry off in the oil in a large saucepan. Prepare the broccoli by cutting into florets, include the stem and all( peel if coarse ). Add the broccoli and the stock and bring to a gentle simmer. Simmer / boil for about 10 minutes till cooked through. Cool. put into a liquidizer and blend. Return to the saucepan and reheat , add the milk ( or cream if you eat it , or rice milk could be used ) and bring nearly to boiling point again. Add the grated cheese and pepper and serve. ( we both liked it so will make it again. )
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 The recent wind trashed the leaves of this Bird of Paradise so it sent up and unfurled a new pristine leaf. ( for how long? )

 Cecile Brunner  rose seems indestructible. It has been cut to the ground twice but always wins and bounces back. It does need serious pruning as it climbs into neighbouring trees.


The very first rhododendron I planted here 33 years ago was Virginia Richards. It hasn't flowered well for some time but is back doing it's thing this year. Thrips get to it I think.
This is the same purple bearded iris I showed in the vase of flowers on Saturday. It is my favourite and has only spread to make 3 clumps over about 20 years...so not invasive in any way.
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* As I am typing I can hear the bang, bang, bang of the post rammer putting in the piles for under the container. It will then be shifted off the metal loading area and can get painted and camouflaged to some extent.
 *It is calm today so while R was waiting for the rammer to turn up he has started spraying some of the weeds on the drive and shell path. Thank goodness for that it is long overdue! ( he has a tank on a little trailer behind the Hustler mower so that saves me using a Knapsack sprayer ! )
* Only a little sewing has happened. The mail box wall hanging got it's label  - a chook with a mail bag delivering letters ( off the new label CD ) and 2 hangers for the al rod. So totally finished and hanging!. I have also started on the brown selvage block. They are going well and the others are now half square triangle blocks about 12" square.
 But back to work now.
 

7 comments:

Thimbleanna said...

I've never made broccoli soup either -- and your post is really making me want to try it. (Well, except for the smell part LOL.) As for responding to comments -- I think everyone has to do what works best for them. I try to email back to my commenters, but it doesn't always happen 'cause not all of my comments get delivered to my e-mail. Your solution would actually work much better for me but, as a commenter, I know that I never have time to re-visit the comment section of a post -- so I'll never see a response. ;-( I've seen some people who comment back on their commenters blog (if that makes sense -- maybe that's the answer!

Nicky said...

I'm a convert here on broccoli soup - at my girls netball tournament recently they had hot soup. I asked what it was and the lady said 'cream of vegetable', so I tried it and it was amazing! I went back for another cup and told her how lovely it was - she then confessed it was cream of broccoli(which I knew by then anyway) but she said if she told people that's what it was they wouldn't buy it. lol
I tried to make it myself too and pretty much used the same recipe as what you have. Yummo!
Lovely flowers happening at your place at the moment.......

Jennifer said...

More lovely flowers! My parents' house had a climbing rose up one wall, which may have been Cecile Brunner......it seemed indestructible.

loulee said...

Cheeeeeseeee and brocoli soup! Drooool !

Janice said...

Your soup sounds yummy. I've made a similar one with cauliflower. Your poor garden did cop a battering. It's looking lovely now.

Lady Mondegreen's Secret Garden said...

Broccoli soup, such a good way to use those overblown heads. Ah but I'm a long-time fan of Broccoli and blue cheese soup (with great hunks of blue mould mixing it with the florets in the creamy mess. Heaven.

I always check back on whatever blog post I have commented on and understand that bloggers may not get back for awhile. I also enjoy going back through old posts and leaving comments, which show up in the present on the Comment tab, and give people a bit of a surprise. I prefer to keep my email box for personal and business mail - which doesn't mean blog friends don't become personal email friends...

Thanks for visiting Lady Mondegreen's Secret Garden by the way.

molly said...

I love broccoli soup. You can find my recipe, which is similar to yours but uses milk and Swiss cheese, on Molly and Lily in the Kitchen. My broccoli comes from the store. Our soil here is pure sand and the one time we tried to grow broccoli the results were pathetic! Beautiful flowers! I'd love to take a stroll around your gardens and orchard!