Perhaps I should rename my blog 'All That I'm Blending' I've been making so much soup recently. But that's the joy of soup isn't it? You can pretty much throw what you've got hanging around into the pot and miraculously out comes a steaming hot bowl of marvellous soup. My red lentil and tomato soup is no different. Made using what I had in the cupboards and fridge this felt like a meal concocted out of nothing; and I have extra portions in the freezer Red Lentil and Tomato Soup
Perhaps I should rename my blog 'All That I'm Blending' I've been making so much soup recently. But that's the joy of soup isn't it? You can pretty much throw what you've got hanging around into the pot and miraculously out comes a steaming hot bowl of marvellous soup. My red lentil and tomato soup is no different. Made using what I had in the cupboards and fridge this felt like a meal concocted out of nothing; and I have extra portions in the freezer 
If you're chopping the florets off the broccoli and throwing away the stalk you're missing out. The stalk has that delicious broccoli flavour and can be used in so many ways. My broccoli stalk and sesame soup recipe is one of the things I like to use the stalks for but you can also chop them finely and add them to stir fries, pasta dishes and roasted veg.
Ingredients
You will need (for four portions):
Oil for frying1 onion, roughly 
There's something special about watching the steam rise from a hot bowl of soup after you've been working in the garden all morning; you just know it's going to fill you up. My smoked bacon and kale soup came about simply to use up some ingredients in the kitchen. I cooked up enough for six portions so there's plenty in the freezer for a wet and windy day. We have rather busy weekends and when lunchtime comes it's nice to stop, take some time 
When you get your hands on some truly spectacular ingredients they don't need much interfering with. I picked up some sublimely sweet tomatoes and a small burrata at a market recently and I wanted these simple ingredients to shine. My balsamic roasted tomatoes and burrata were served with a warm olive studded focaccia which we enjoyed eating outside for the first time this year. When you're serving up tomatoes, cheese and warm bread can you really 
Sometimes there's nothing better than a sandwich. It could be a properly crusty, thickly sliced loaf filled with simple cheese and chutney, a bagel filled with pastrami, gherkins and mustard or some thin rye bread topped with smoked fish and herbs. I don't think I could ever tire of something that you can just grab and eat with your hands. My salami and mozzarella open ciabatta is just the thing for a simple, no fuss, full of flavour dinner. Don't 
It was one of those evenings. You know the ones, where you look in the fridge expecting a sudden moment of inspiration and the fridge just stares blankly back. I’d put something down on the meal plan but for one reason or another didn’t manage to cook it; sometimes I forget to buy an ingredient or I use it all in another meal forgetting to save any for later in the week. My potato, chargrilled broccoli and pesto salad came out of seemingly nowhere. 
I meal plan. Only the dinners mind you. I'd like to think I was organised enough to plan fantastic breakfasts and fabulous lunches but I'd much rather have longer in bed each morning than fuss around with an avocado and quickly grab something easy for lunch in the week. However, there are consequences to this nonchalant attitude of mine. What if disaster strikes? What if, as I enjoy my chicken sandwich for lunch I realise that chicken is on the meal 
There's been a spate of soup recipes appearing on my blog recently. I'll tell you for why: because there's nothing more comforting I would like to have for lunch during the week. Sure, a steaming bowl of cauliflower cheese would be a fantastic winter luncheon but that's more effort than I am willing to put in for what is effectively the most rushed meal of the week. So instead I take a bit of time at the weekend and batch cook some soup, freeze it 
Sometimes I make something like a veggie stew or pasta sauce and realise that it could become a delicious soup with just a little extra water. That's exactly how this Tomato, Butterbean and Spinach Pesto Soup came about. I had made it as a sauce for baking with gnocchi, similar to this recipe, and I thought it would make a great soup; something a bit different from a normal tomato soup. And I was right. Full of flavour, colour and easy to make from 
Comforting, nourishing and wholesome; there’s nothing quite like a bowl of soup. It’s my lunch of choice, especially during the week when I want something quick and easy. I like to vary what I have with my soup and more often than not I don’t have it with bread, preferring to have a salad or some leftovers on the side. This recipe for roasted superfood salad works particularly well with Baxters new Super Good Chicken Noodle Soup because the 
