This was thought up on the spur of the moment and the result was really good, its a thick and warming soup,  packed full of flavour that you could exchange the lentils for something like bulgur wheat. The lovage is my newest herb in the garden and is really worth growing,  it smells something like celery but when cooked gives real body and depth. I love it and would not be without now. Many thanks to my friend Pam who gave me the plants.

You will need the following

1 lb Carrots diced
8 oz Onions diced
3 sticks Celery chopped
1 oz of butter
4oz Red lentils
1oz of Fresh Lovage chopped
2 teaspoons of Verdurette or 2 vegetable stock cubes
2 pints of water
Pepper

To make the soup

Add the carrots, onions, celery and butter and saute until soft

Add the lentils, lovage, verdurette or stock cubes and the water

Simmer until the lentils are cooked and season with pepper to taste.

Serve it as it is or mash it or whizz it as I did .

If you don’t have the time or don’t want to make a ‘fresh ginger plant’ (see post) then I believe this is the next best option. Have a go and let me know what you think.

You will need the following to make the Ginger Beer.

1 sachet of brewers yeast

2lbs of sugar

1 jar of ground dried ginger

1 to 2  fresh lemons

1 sterilised jar the hold the ‘plant’

3 sterilised recycled ‘pop’ bottles

Milton sterilizing tablets or liquid to  sterilise the  jar and recycled plastic ‘pop’ bottles

Muslin cloth to  strain the ‘plant’

Ginger Beer Plant

1 sachet of brewers yeast

2 teaspoons of sugar

2 teaspoons of dried ginger

1 clean sterilised jar with cover

cooled boiled water

Add all the ingredients into the jar and stir.

For six days  add

1 teaspoon of sugar

1 teaspoon of ginger

To make the Ginger Beer

Now strain the liquid through some muslin.  Reserve half the contents of the plant to start a new one and pass the other half onto a friend.

Make a sugar syrup using 1 1/2 lbs sugar and 1 pint of water

When the sugar is dissolved add 5 pints of water

Add the juice of one lemon

Add the strained liquid from the ginger beer plant in the jar

Add to the recycled ‘pop’ bottles and leave until the bottles became hard to the touch (this will vary according to the temperature the bottles are stored in),  now place in the fridge or somewhere cool.

Ready to drink now.



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