Food for the Soul

Things are connected. Yesterday I picked the first big strawberry from the walled garden. I cut it four ways and we all had a taste, Hubby made a face as he'd just had a sweet cereal but we three thought it tasted delicious. Truth was, it wasn't quite ripe but I'd noticed a small hole and a red ant gorging! I wasn't up for sharing.....

Then, as I drove to school I noticed the elderflower trees had opened their white blossoms. Ah ha, time for cordial making. The connection was made; clearly the time had arrived in the seasons where I need to use up last year's stocks from the freezers, to make room for this year's crops of strawberry, plum, damson and far, far, more.

I knew I had a turkey carcass in one of the freezers so I began my stock take by actually making some -stock. The garden is bursting into life so I used a couple of juicy onions, tons of coriander or cilantro and a bunch of parsley and thyme. I added salt and pepper, a little honey, last year's garlic, fresh ginger and chilli and turned on the slow cooker - very low, to cook for most of the day.

Today for lunch I strained the amber liquid into a saucepan, added a little more chilli and began to bring it to the boil. While it was heating I picked fresh baby cavolo de nero kale and shredded it finely and de-podded young broad beans and added them to the hot soup for two, three minutes tops.

It was amazing. Food miles = almost zero.