What a fun few days I have had.  Oh dear me though, quantity and quality of food would not win any dieting or healthy living awards 😦

One notable exception is a delicious soup I made on Friday lunch time.  I knew I was having a rather debauched weekend so I lined up some good nutrients.

I have not used this miso before and was curious about how it would look and taste.

It’s quite thick and solid and then dissolves easily when added to the liquid.

I did make a mistake by adding the miso at the beginning and then bringing to the boil and simmering which can destroy delicate enzymes.  It is better to add at the end.  Miso added a lovely flavour to the soup and a bit of sweetness.

Kale, Butternut and Lentil Miso Soup

Ingredients (serves 4 – 6)

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
• 8 – 10 leaves of cavolo nero (or other type of kale), chopped
• 1 butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut in to chunks
• 1 cup red lentils
• 1 litre stock
• 2 tbsps  miso

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and gently fry the onion
2. Add all the other ingredients, bring to the boil and then simmer until the butternut is soft and the lentils are cooked – about 30 minutes
3. You could eat it like that but I blitzed it in the Vita Mix to make it very smooth.

It was surprisingly sweet and had a lovely rich flavour.  James returned for seconds so it can’t have been bad.  I served mine with some blue cheese and it made a very good lunch.  No bread, just the soup and cheese.  Yummy.

In the evening we went to Casa Mirella’s and I caught up with some of my lovely local friends.

Mirella made a delicious lasagne without the bechamel sauce.  We all know the bechamel is what makes a lasagne so tasty but without it, the fat content and calories were massively reduced and the sauce was so tomatoey and rich, we didn’t miss it at all.  Served with salad it was a great supper.

I was driving so couldn’t drink much.  Unfortunately, I could eat and eat I did: olive bread dipped in olive oil and balsamic, chocolate and creamy pudding and chocolate.  Lots and lots of chocolate.  It was a good evening 🙂 .

On Saturday I had a wonderful invitation to a ball and headed up to Leicestershire to stay with some very dear friends; BJ and Helen.

My partner for the evening was someone very special indeed.  We met at BJ’s, went for a lovely walk and enjoyed this spectacular sunset.

We glammed ourselves up and enjoyed some champagne before our taxi collected us to take us to the ball. Our lovely host, BJ, with friend Sue

and hostess, Helen with Andrew and Becky.

Who was my partner for the evening?  My completely gorgeous and beautiful daughter.  She hopped on a train from Durham and I picked her up at Tamworth station in the afternoon.  It was wonderful to see her and fun to spend an adult evening together.

The food at the ball was very good.  Smoked salmon with potato salad

followed by a delicious chicken breast in mushroom sauce with potatoes and this cute vegetable bundle.

I like that.

Apple crumble and custard for dessert plus far too many of these.

There was also an assortment of cheeses with crackers, grapes and celery.  I thought I had taken a photo but apparently not.  The cheeses were provided by Sparkenhoe which is a local dairy farm and dairy.  There were 4 or 5 different cheeses, all made close to the event.  You can buy Sparkenhoe Red Leicestershire cheese in Waitrose and I highly recommend it.

My hosts were completely fabulous.  After a lovely long lie in this morning, a cup of tea was brought to my room.  Once I had showered and dressed I was sat down with the paper and served scrambled egg with smoked salmon, orange juice and lots of coffee.

The scrambled egg was made with eggs from the chickens in the garden and had a little bit of cream in it.  Ooooh, it was fabulous.

Today was such a glorious day!  We had a stroll around outside and I confess I am completely envious of the vegetable and fruit garden BJ has planned and which is nearly ready.

I am particularly jealous of this incredible greenhouse.  I want one!  I am looking forward to my next visit to see it completely finished.

Henrietta and James returned from a sleepover at Grandma’s with cute new hats.

It was hard to tear myself away but I did, dropping Lara off at the train station on my way back South.  I am too tired to cook a meal for my family (I am a terrible Mother/Wife sometimes!) so James is on his way to the Raja for an Indian instead.  I had a great weekend and have a lot to do next week to re-stoke my nutrient stores.