Courgette & Potato Soup

I craved a filling and wholesome soup and wanted to finish up a few veggies before my next organic fruit and vegetable delivery.  This easy and delicious soup was the answer.

Ingredients

Olive oil
2 medium onions - diced
2 large garlic cloves - chopped
1 leek - sliced
4 large courgettes (zucchini) - cut into chunks
7 small potatoes - cut into chunks
4 cups vegetable stock
150ml cream cheese with chives (you could use one without the chives, but this was what I had in the fridge.  I probably would have added chives anyway!)
parsley - chopped
lemon


Cook onions, garlic and leek in a little oil, until just starting to brown.  Add courgettes and potatoes, stirring until softened.  Pour in the vegetable stock and bring to the boil, then simmer for approx. 20-30 minutes.

Cool slightly, then blend all together.

Stir in cream cheese and parsley, with a good squeeze of lemon juice.  Serve with cornbread muffins - recipe found at: In Caryl's Kitchen: Cornbread Muffins.

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Roasted Ratatouille

Roasting veggies is such an easy way to cook, especially when you've got other things to do.  I love experimenting with different ways of putting them together and this my version of a roasted ratatouille.

Ingredients

2 medium aubergine (eggplants)
3 courgettes (zucchini)
1 red pepper (capsicum)
1 orange pepper (capsicum)
1 large onion
1 bulb garlic - peeled and cloves separated
Olive oil
Salt
Rosemary
5 tomatoes - roughly chopped
Parmesan - grated


Cut the aubergines, courgettes, peppers and onion into large pieces.  Put them into a large bowl, with the garlic cloves and pour a nice glug of oil over them.  Sprinkle with salt and rosemary and stir well.

Spread the veggies out onto two oven trays and place in the oven at 200 degrees C.  Roast for approx. 45 minutes.  Divide the roughly chopped tomatoes between the two trays, stir well and return to oven for a further 30 minutes until the tomatoes soften and the other vegetables are browned.  Add a good sprinkling of grated parmesan and stir again.

Serve warm, with baked fish, or anything else for that matter!

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Linguine with Courgettes & Mushrooms

When you need to use up your veggie box quickly, this is a really tasty and easy meal to throw together.

Olive Oil
Garlic Cloves (I used about 6 because we love garlic!)
1 x large onion, sliced
3 x large courgettes (zucchini), halved lengthways, then sliced thinly across
1 x large punnet brown mushrooms (approx 400g), sliced thinly
Pine Nuts (kernels)
Parmesan cheese, grated


Fry the garlic and onions in a large pan, with a little olive oil, until starting to brown.  Add the courgettes and continue stirring until they soften.  Add the mushrooms and stir until they just start to release their juices, then pop the lid on the pan.

Let the veggies cook while you go check the last of your emails for the day and finish putting away whatever's left of the In Caryl's Kitchen: Blueberry Chia Seed Muffins you made earlier.

Check the veggies and give them a good stir.  There should be a good amount of the juices in the pan and the veggies will be soft.  Throw in what's left of the packet of pine kernels and pour the mixture over cooked linguine (or any pasta of choice).

Serve with grated parmesan cheese over the top.  You can, of course, add any extra seasonings, but we like this one really simple!

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥