Rumpy Pumpy Soup

Yes, the Hobbits are finally coming off their diet and so I offer the following recipe from The Hairy Biker show 'Mum Knows Best' for your tastebuds.

This is the sort of recipe that begs you to serve it with home-made bread and is just the sort of thing I believe dear Sam may have rustled up for Frodo after their quest. Hearty, filling and perfect for a cold winter's day like today.

Ingredients:
About 2 litres ham stock (I'm a vegetarian so I just used vegetable stock)
450g carrots, peeled and chopped
225g turnip or swede peeled and chopped
340g onions, finely chopped
Any other ‘secret’ veggies, such as sprouts,
Leeks, finely chopped cabbage, even a can of chopped tomatoes (I always put a tin of tomatoes in)
225g red lentils
Salt and pepper

1.To make the stock the night before with a ham bone or hock so the flavour can develop.

2.Cook the vegetables in the ham stock until soft, then add the lentils. Stir frequently at this stage, as lentils can burn quite easily.

3. If you have made the stock with a ham hock, remove any meat, chop it and add to the soup. Season to taste.

Maureen sometimes adds chunks of potato to cook in the soup to make it more filling, or stirs in 1–2 teaspoons of ground cumin to give it a curry flavour.

This recipe is taken from Mums Know Best: The Hairy Bikers' Family Cookbook.

(This is an old post from last year and so the Hobbits have been off their diet and are now back on it again! This recipe is actually quite a good one if you're on a diet as it's mostly vegetables, though the lentils will cost you some Weight Watcher points, and unfortunately you wont be able to have a large hunk of bread and spread it with butter! But, Weight Watchers do sell mini baguettes that you bake at home and they're quite low in points.)

Rumpy Pumpy Soup.

Yes, the Hobbits are finally coming off their diet and so I offer the following recipe from The Hairy Biker show 'Mum Knows Best' for your tastebuds.

This is the sort of recipe that begs you to serve it with home-made bread and is just the sort of thing I believe dear Sam may have rustled up for Frodo after their quest. Hearty, filling and perfect for a cold winter's day like today.

Ingredients:
About 2 litres ham stock (I'm a vegetarian so I just used vegetable stock)
450g carrots, peeled and chopped
225g turnip or swede peeled and chopped
340g onions, finely chopped
Any other ‘secret’ veggies, such as sprouts,
Leeks, finely chopped cabbage, even a can of chopped tomatoes (I always put a tin of tomatoes in)
225g red lentils
Salt and pepper

1.To make the stock the night before with a ham bone or hock so the flavour can develop.

2.Cook the vegetables in the ham stock until soft, then add the lentils. Stir frequently at this stage, as lentils can burn quite easily.

3. If you have made the stock with a ham hock, remove any meat, chop it and add to the soup. Season to taste.

Maureen sometimes adds chunks of potato to cook in the soup to make it more filling, or stirs in 1–2 teaspoons of ground cumin to give it a curry flavour.

This recipe is taken from Mums Know Best: The Hairy Bikers' Family Cookbook.

Beans and Dogs

I stumbled across this recipe on http://womenlivingwell-courtney.blogspot.com/ , and it sounded so easy and included all the things my boys like to eat.

Beans and Dogs Ingredients:
2 cans of baked beans
5 hot dogs sliced 1/4 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup of ketchup
2 to 3 slices of onion chopped
A dab of mustard
Mix it all together and cook it at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes

I think this would make a lovely lunch or supper all on its own with a nice chunk of bread. Or combine it with the Breakfast Casserole like we did. Either way I'm quite sure Rosie Cotton made it for Sam after a hard days work in his garden.

Chicken and Sweet Potato Curry

This is probably not your typical Hobbit food. But, I reckon Gandalf might have enjoyed this curry and would have sustained him well on his journeys on Shadowfax.

The recipe was past on to me from my brother, and I've tweaked a bit. Feel free to do the same.

1 onion, sliced,

1/2 pint coconut milk

Tin of chopped tomatoes,

1/4 jar of pataks curry paste ( I used Madras)

4-5 chicken breasts, skinless,

1 or 2 sweet potato's, cut into chunks. (I used a small tin of new potatoes)

1 tbs cornflour.

Heat the oil in a saucepan, fry onion. Add curry paste stir & add the chicken to brown. Once browned Add tin of chopped tomatoes , potato & coconut milk /milk (my brother uses normal milk) and bring to gentle boil.

Simmer for 25-45 minutes depending on how much your making, or until chicken is cooked through and coconut milk has reduced. To add more sauce, put in more chopped tom's or add milk. I added about a tablespoon of cornflour, but depending on how thick you want the sauce you could add more/less.

As you can see, we had ours with naan bread, but a bit of Lembas Bread would probably go down a treat too!