FLOWER POT KITCHEN: TOM YUM CUP OF SPEEDY SOUP

1 Feb 2015

TOM YUM CUP OF SPEEDY SOUP

This is one of my go to staples from my fridge, a super little mug full of sunshine, ready in under three minutes which helps in keeping me from eating extra unwanted calories. I always feel wonderfully invigorated after a mug or bowl of this style of honest Jewish penicillin soup, so called because scientist have proven that it is 25% as effective as taking penicillin, I love that there is now scientific proof in some of these old wives tales of why certain foods were, are good for you!

This mug is loaded with gorgeous tom yum fragrant lemongrass, ginger, chilli, harissa, lime and coconut flavours and a little broccoli, asparagus, watercress, spinach, garlic and turmeric for a super health boost.

Prep time 5 minutes/Cook time 3 minutes/chicken stock un-attended cooking 2hrs

Ingredients

(makes 1 1/2 pints)

Chicken stock

1 free range chicken

1 carrot rough chopped

1 onion halved

1 leek rough chopped

2 sticks celery rough chopped

Sea salt

Fresh ground black pepper

2 pints of water

Tom yum

250ml chicken stock

1 tsp Tom yum paste

1/2 tsp tamarind pulp

1/2 tsp harissa

1 dash fish sauce

1/4 squeeze lime juice

1/4 lemongrass bashed

1/2" ginger grated

1/2" turmeric grated

1 clove garlice grated

1 tbsp broccoli

1 small handful torn spinach and watercress

50ml coconut milk

Place all the ingredients for the stock in a large pan and bring to a gentle just simmer, leave to gently bubble away for a couple of hours. Strain and reserve the chicken stock, taste for seasoning and adjust, place in the fridge to set. Once cold you will be easily able to scoop of the chicken fat that has solidified, if you want.

Take the poached chicken and remove all the meat, this is great for using up in lots of other meals, like chicken pie, coronation chicken, salads, wraps, sandwiches and stir fry.

Bring 250ml, a mug full of chicken stock to a simmer, add all the tom yum ingredients, simmer for two minutes and serve in your mug, fabulous nutritious food on the go.

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LIFE MY PASSION

Welcome to my daily life of cooking, one winters day many years ago my family and I were all inspired by a back to back rainy day of River Cottage this got us to stop talking about and start actually doing, suddenly three weeks later eight vegetable beds were dug, greenhouse erected and our first vegetables were propagating, this was the start to raising and growing our own food, our fabulous son Oscar changed our path in life which lead us to sell our small thriving restaurant of 10 yrs and to start our new life (Terrifying!) a life of the self sufficient in touch with nature and seasons, taking a step back and looking forward to a slower change of pace and making the most of every moment.

My passion for cooking was stronger than ever and having time at home with Oscar I found I had a new direction and I was no longer striving for perfection, I was suddenly very passionate for the enjoyment of the other side of food, something I had not realised, being the Chef/Cook and every other duty of your own small restaurant made me see that I never actually took time to cook what I wanted!

So there I was muddy boots and hands digging deep in more than one sense and I found myself transported back in time to where everyone grew some of their own food, it is a wonderful world with a real sense of achievement and loss, Slugs Snails and Caterpillars! But thats another story! Childhood memories of summers when I lived with my grand parents reminded me of so much that I had learnt about the make do and mend generation that I had forgotten.

Now as a family we love our free wild food days where we gather what nature has provided, have gone from being mini mini garden urban small holders, who did raised pigs at home because we could not wait to find land and supporting ourselves from our garden to now owning a very small farm that allows us to grow more vegetables for the whole of our family and neighbours, raise our own gorgeous Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs, (Sausages!) and pets! Dorset Down sheep, chickens for eggs and pet goats! Suddenly having large quantities of produce started to wake up the Cook in me!

The Cook was awake that part of me that wants to cook for the masses and I found myself setting up Flowerpot Kitchen, a Farmers Market Stall, I wanted to use our honest raised meats and make old fashioned pork pies, rabbit pies and game pies from the local game keeper along with old fashioned techniques and the best hot water crust pastry. This in turn grew to a small cottage industry from home weekly supplying three farm shops and a deli along with also attending three farmers markets A few years later there came a time when my son Oscar's health changed and it was an easy decision to stop.

I still hold the occasional pop up 40 seater restaurant or gourmet lunch which we do for local charities for the love of sharing food and to remind that Cook in me why I love our go slower self sufficient life!

So here I am sitting amoung the vegetables watching the chickens loving that every season nature teaches me something new and that nature is in charge! She has taught me to just go with it and grow. Give it a try from a tray of salad on your windowsill to a few tomato plants it all counts.