Souper time for Sharon

At this time of year with the continuing freezing weather people have been turning to soup for warmth and comfort.

Sharon enjoyed a visit to Wigtown's County Buildings for a soup lunch organised to raise money for the Guides and Brownies. The place was packed and there were all sorts of soups on offer. She chose Italian courgette soup, served with proper fresh bread and butter and said it was: “Creamy, tasty, and delicious. So warm and filling.” After the soup the sweet treats arrived, with “proper-sized” cups of tea. She enjoyed the chocolate shortbread and the Malteser squares, an open-topped mini mince pie, and other temptations.

Sharon is not the only one enjoying soup at the moment. Heinz has announced that soup sales have soared during the big freeze. In January, it sold 57.3 million tins of tomato soup, a 23 per cent rise on the same period last year. Households stocked up nine Olympic swimming pools worth of tinned soup.

Lentil soup is always a good standby for a warming boost.

Take a couple of handfuls of small red lentils and rinse them in a strainer. Chop a large onion finely and soften it in a little oil or butter with a couple of rashers of bacon chopped finely. Then add the lentils to the pan with the onion and bacon, add some stock (use a stock cube), salt and pepper and a scattering of herbs if you like. Simmer until the lentils are soft. A can of tomatoes or a squirt of tomato puree can be added during cooking.

www.sharonskitchenworld.blogspot.com

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