sunshine mugs

the other day i found these little mugs at the op shop for fifty cents each, and immediately fell in love with them - they were originally made in nelson, where some of our family tree make their home, and they have a lovely potter's stamp on the bottom. i cannot believe that people threw these tiny cuties away - they look perfect for a fairy party of dandelion tea and homemade raspberry jam scones.

in the absence of either, i decided on Katie's Roasted Winter Veggie Soup. so last night, while making dinner, Danny and i chopped up extra vege and placed it all on a baking tray:
two onions, peeled and quartered
half a large pumpkin, peeled and chopped into eight pieces
six carrots, topped and tailed (but not peeled!)
two parsnips (same)
a lovely swoosh of deliciously green extra virgin olive oil from hawkes bay drizzled over all the veggies - mmmmm.
followed by a good grinding of salt/kaffir lime leaves/sundried tomatoes (Bulldog keeps bringing this sorta stuff home when he goes shopping)
roast it for about an hour and then leave it all in the oven to nearly cool (while ya eat dinner accompanied by the usual family hilarity)

i have a thing for leeks in soup. here's the trick. chop into warming olive oil, get it started, cook for a few mins, then tuck it all under a lid, turn off the heat and walk off and leave it to cook itself for ten minutes! (perfect when procrastinating writing an essay!)

now: find a few extra roasted poh-tay-tohs that weren't eaten at dinner and chuck the lot into the pressure cooker, add water, let it squeal, cook ten minutes. leave overnight without touching it to let the flavours develop (or cook in the usual huge stockpot until tender, then pop the lid on).

just before lunchtime the next day, inbetween essay takes, whizz it with the magic wand, adding extra water (unless you prefer baby food consistency, which i do).

pour into delectable, mouthful-sized mugs...

be delighted when resident daughter says... "oh, my gosh, this is amazing! did you use poh-tay-tohs? i think that makes all the difference."

(the best thing is, there's a perfect excuse for a refill - there are only two sips in each mug!)

ohk, back to the essay now X