Can you see the blue sky in the spoon? That's how London's weather has been like for the last few months, apart from a few showers. I usually bring the food I made on to the roof of downstairs' kitchen extension and take pictures for this blog. It's a bit like a balcony without a fence. I live on the first floor (I mean 'second') so it's a bit dangerous if I fall... I'm sitting on it as I write this.
I have to climb over my sitting room window to get here, but it's a wonderful space. I love it here. I look over someone else's gardens full of trees, and I often get a chair out here to read, to watch DVD, or just to think about nothing. There's Kensington Gardens near where I live, but on sunny days like today there are loads and loads of half naked people and it's not very nice :(
By the way it's the first time I write a soup recipe here. Soups are not very photogenic food, in my opinion, without any textures and combination of colours. They tend to look like sludge in most cookery books. Well, they are sludge, I guess. You have to depend on fancy props like napkins and plates to make it a decent picture. Today's props in the picture of this summery soup is the London sky :)
Ingredients (for 2 people):
You will need a blender.
2 medium size carrots, sliced very thinly
1 small onion, sliced very thinly
juice and zest of half an orange, zest grated
1 teaspoon of thyme, chopped
a knob of butter
1/4 chicken stock cube
500ml water
Dollop of crème fraîche
Melt the butter in a pan and fry the carrots and onions on a low heat for about 10-15 minutes. This slow frying releases natural sugar from the vegetables. Add thyme, grated orange zest, chicken stock cube, and water. Cook on a low-medium heat for another 15 minutes.
Put the contents of the pan into a blender (I use Bamix, so I put the blender in the pan) and whiz until smooth. Add the orange juice, salt and pepper to taste, and whiz again for half a minute.
Pour into a bowl and have the soup with a dollop of cream.