Sunday

Sunday already.  The start of the second half of the Christmas break and thoughts are, unfortunately, turning to planning, resources, future assessments and the like.  There's a fair bit of work to be done that wouldn't have been done last week anyway, 100% fit or not and it all takes much thought before I can sit down and produce the paper versions.

It's still quite breezy here but dry and hopefully it will stay that way.  Mind you, I haven't watched any weather forecasts recently so have no idea what's in the offing, weather-wise.  I doubt it's snow, but you never know with the weird and wonderful weather we seem to be getting nowadays!

I got the turkey hotpot and the lentil and chestnut soup made at last yesterday and I'm well pleased with both.
I suppose I shouldn't call it hotpot because it isn't, it's just a turkey soup/casserole, but that's what mum called it and the name has stuck.  Anyway, this is how I did it.
I peeled and cut into chunks two smallish onions, one leek, three medium carrots, two parsnips, one sweet potato, one ordinary potato and half a smallish swede (and a partridge in a pear tree!) and softened them all in butter in my large pan.  I then added all the turkey stock (and very good, tasty stock it was too), a bouquet garni, two bay leaves, a couple of handfuls of red lentils and some pepper.  It all simmered away for a while until the veg were soft and the lentils had mushed.  I finished it off by adding the drained contents of a tin of butter beans and the rest of the turkey (quite a lot) and simmered it all up again for about five minutes.  Most of it is now in the freezer but there's a bit in my breakfast bowl!  It's really delicious! 

The lentil and chestnut soup was just following a recipe and it also came out well.  Here's the recipe (I think I posted it before but here it is again).  http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/chefs/nigella-lawson/lentil-and-chestnut-soup-recipe


And that really is the end of the turkey!!!