Cold Cucumber and Mint Soup

At the moment it is high summer and we have a bit of a glut of cucumbers, which we pick before they get very big. Still, we have plenty and the weather is rather hot. So here’s a super quick cold soup that takes care of the cucumber glut and the heat.

 

 

 

 

What you need

• about 800g of cucumber diced
• 200 ml natural (Greek) yoghurt
• 400 ml vegetable broth
• 1 small glass of white port (optional, but nice)
• 1-2 cloves of garlic
• a sprig each of mint, tarragon and dill
• a small jalapeño pepper (not pictured)
• salt and pepper

What you do

1. Puré all the ingredients in a blender.
2. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (I said it was super quick.)
3. Put in the fridge for an hour.
4. Decorate with herbs and, if using, some very thin slices of Jalapeño peppers) and serve with fresh bread or crostini.

My Dad's Favourite Breakfast Muesli

A bit more than a year ago I had to stop doing this because things were rather hectic and I just didn't find the time to write up seasonal and mainly veggie recipes. I hope to be back to doing this again on a regular basis. What better way than to start up again with the only thing my Dad still really appreciates, because he has lost much of his sense of taste, but it seems he still likes something slightly sweet. Having said that, the sweetness in this breakfast muesli comes from its ingredients (a bit of sugar in the yoghurt, I admit), i.e. the fruit used. It also works well in winter because it uses dried fruit, fruit that is available all year or that can be kept over winter like apples.

What you need

(The following are for two people)

• 6 heaped tbsp. mixed cereal (spelt, oat, etc.) soaked (for at least 30 mins, better overnight) in
• multivitamin juice to cover (can be supplemented with the water used for soaking the dried fruit)

• 1 small banana
• 1 tub of Greek yoghurt (ideally with honey or figs)
• 1 handful of raisins or sultanas
• 6 slices of dried mangoes, soaked overnight
• 6 dried apricots, soaked overnight
• optionally 1 grated apple
• optionally 4 dried figs, diced
• optionally 2 tbsp of sea buckthorn extract

What you do

1. Mash up the banana and mix in the yoghurt.
2. Add the cereal and the raisins.
3. Cut the soaked fruit into small pieces and add to the mix.
4. Add the optional ingredients. 
5. Mix well and serve (You can also leave it in the fridge for a bit...)