Grandma's Pickle and Cold Meat Soup (Solyanka)

This soup was once sure sign that my grandma was visiting. My parents are big fans of german viennas and cold meats, and this soup is made from leftovers. And it's tangy, meaty and very warming on a cold night.

I love this soup so much. I love feeling this presence in my house, like my gran is just around the corner. Both my brother and I have been trying to recreate her recipes lately. I'm hoping it's going to become a bit of a project. Watch out for the Napoleon!

Cold Meat and Pickle Soup

From Tiny Grandma

2 - 3 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped

3 cups (more or less) chopped cold meat (non smoked viennas, ham etc)

100 g tomato paste

1 cup chopped pickled gherkins (I used Beit Hashita)

Sour Cream as needed

1) Take a medium soup pot, and fill it with water. Salt the water. Once it boils, add the potatoes.

2) In the meantime, warm up about two tablespoons of olive oil in a medium sized pan on a medium-high heat, and add all the cold meats. Fry until nicely browned.

3) Add the tomato paste, stir through and cook for about 5 minutes.

4) Once the potatoes are cooked through, add cold meat mixture to the pot, at the same time as the pickles.

5) Taste and correct for seasoning.

6) Add a dollop of sour cream when serving. Prepare for very happy loved ones.

Vegetable Roses

Roast vegetables are wholesome, soft, slightly crunchy and sweet.. And boring.We've been making the same roast veggies for supper for years and years. They're wonderful, but I crave just a tiny bit of creativity.

One great thing about Ani is she really, really appreciates even my borderline failed experiments. She was so excited when she saw these! 

I thought they turned out really well. The colours didn't pop once they were cooked, but they did keep their shape and were a unique and beautiful addition to our plates. I drizzled beurre blanc on top to give it a bit of smoothness and make it that little more sophisticated. Unfortunately, I added a bit too much liquid to these, so there was a bit of soup at the bottom, but everyone loved them anyway. I have, however, reduced the liquid amount below.

Vegetable Roses

Whole butternut, peeled and cut in half lengthwise

Baby marrows, or even marrows if you can get them

Broccoli, broken up into florets

Butter

Chicken Stock

1) Use the peeler to make long slices of the butternut.

2) Do the same with the marrow.

3) Line a ramekin with the butternut and marrow slices, alternating them.

4) Keep some room in the middle for broccoli. Put a tiny bit of butter in there (I'd say about 1/4 of a teaspoon) and a tablespoon of chicken stock.

5) Fill the middle with broccoli.

6) Place ramekins in a baking dish, and cover with foil.

7) Bake at 180 C for about half an hour, uncover and bake for a further 10 minutes. Watch for the browned bits, make sure they don't burn.

Beurre au Citron du Bonheur

No, I don't speak french. I wish I did though.. I've made butter sauces twice now, so I'm sure I'm just about there. I loved speaking my horrible broken French in Paris.. It was absolutely magical for me! Less magical for the locals though..

Now I know I'm overly emotional, and I get overly attached and in general I'm a bit of a nutter (not necessarily the cute kind), but I'm inspired by this magic potential I find all around me at the moment.

Take this tiny flat I moved into over a year ago. It was dirty, I couldn't afford to have it repainted the the garden was overwhelmed with weeds. I moved in (Ralph came along to stay 'for a few days'), washed it from top to bottom, watered the garden..

The pale lemon yellow walls inspire happiness now. The garden, with bright plants, tomatoes and chillies brings serenity. It's magical that this tiny apartment means so much to me now that I can't bear to think of leaving it not matter how tight our fit is.

Butter sauces are definitely magical too. Plain old fried or steamed Hake with steamed broccoli? Blurg.. But pouring on just a tiny drizzle of this this shining naughty sauce is enough to mellow the harsh tones and add a tang, which turns it into a very enjoyable healthy supper.

Beurre Au Citron
From Mastering the Art of French Cooking

60 ml lemon juice
salt and white pepper
120 g butter, cubed into roughly 1 cm cubes

1) Pour the lemon juice, with salt and pepper into a small, heavy based saucepan.
2) Bring to the boil,and boil until there is about 1 tablespoon of liquid left.
3) Take the saucepan off the heat, and add  cube of butter, start whisking.
4) When it starts melting, add another cube, and place on a low heat.
5) Keep adding the cubes, one by one whilst whisking continually.
6) Serve with fish, chicken or veggies. Not suitable for non- lemon lovers!