Snow calls for soup

So I thought since its been very cold lately I would make some seasonal soup. I have made this once before and its good to take to work when its so bitterly cold outside. It also fits with the usual January obsession with dieting and healthy eating. This is a Mary Berry (aka the Queen) recipe from her Complete Cookbook that I had for Christmas this year. It's so easy and there's nothing fancy or pricey in it that you wouldn't have in your kitchen anyway.

Vegetable Soup

Ingredients: 

1 Carrot

1 Leek

1 Potato

1 Onion

1 Turnip (I used a swede, couldn't fine a turnip!) 

1 Stick of celery 

3 Cloves of garlic, crushed.

3 Spring onions

250g Spinach 

45g Butter

1.5 litres Stock (veg or chicken)

Salt and Pepper

Method: 

• Melt the butter in a large pan and then fry the leeks in it for a few minutes until soft.
• Dice all the vegetables and add them  and the garlic to the leeks and cook for 8-10 minutes.
• Add the stock and bring to the boil, season then simmer for 25 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
• Add the chopped spring onions and de-stemmed, chopped spinach and continue to cook until the leaves are wilted.    

That's it! 

This is a great recipe if you are feeling the cold from taking your salad to work but still want to have a healthy lunch box. Its also really flexible as long as you compensate the amount of garlic with vegetable I think you could add whatever you like. Let me know what you thought of this recipe if you tried it yourself. 

In other news, everyone's talking about the GBBO Comic Relief Special. I think we all heard Paul Hollywood refer to Mary as BEZZER! I think I nearly spat my tea out laughing! And the innuendoes are still in full force which is always funny! Not even Paul and Mary could deny it on The Graham Norton Show on New Years Eve, if anyone didn't see this its amazing! Here's the clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGvMlnhliIE Such a great idea to raise money and to have more bake off on telly. If anyone hasn't seen it yet and you like the bake off then don't miss it. It also includes Lorraine Pascale (another FAV)  meeting people in Ghana who will be helped by the money raised.