ham, pea and lentil soup

I'm not a fan of your traditional pea and ham soup. This is my prettier, way more delicious version of it with the added bonus of lentils.

ingredients;
1 cup of beluga or french lentils - soaked for 1-2 days in filtered water then rinsed well and cooked in clean filtered water, strain, set aside.

for the stock
1 large ham bone (free range organic one if you can get your hands on one)
1 large onion cut in half
1 leek cut in half
a handful of baby tomatoes
and a bunch of parsley
a couple of cloves of garlic
a slug of apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
water to fill the pot - I use my 26cm Le Creuset round pot
all you do is
put everything in a pot cover with water till its a couple of cm from the top, put the lid on stick it in the oven before you go to bed on 90c and when you wake up just like magic your ham stock will be ready!

for the soup 
1 large leek - chopped finely
2 normal size carrots  - chopped finely
2 cups of fresh or frozen peas
1/2 cup of finely chopped parsley - chopped finely
2 cups of the cooked lentils

to put the soup together you do this
strain your stock through a sieve setting aside the ham bone and removing all the tender meat and breaking it up into small pieces (discard all the rest in the pot)
you should be left will a golden stock and all the delicious meat from the ham bone
bring it to a simmer and then it's as simple as adding the leek first, followed by the carrot, give this about 10-15 min to cook on the simmer till the carrot has softened then you pretty much throw in the peas, lentils and parsley cook for a couple of extra mins or bring it back to the simmer

serve in bowls with a little dried chili and a drizzle of best olive oil and some seeded Iggy's bread.

This soup is the bomb.

©Michelle Schoeps 2013

All recipes and photos by Michelle Schoeps

Jelly

As promised many weeks ago.....

In my ideal world I would eat like a Paleo. I try to incorporate most areas into our house on a day to day basis without being extreme. For example we always eat some animal protein/fat (pastured/organic of course) with any plant based foods. We drink only unpasteurised milk, use cultured butter, eat only organic fruit/vegetables that are in season, soak our lentils, rice and nuts. I limit processed sugars at home. If I'm making something that requires sweetness I use maple syrup, honey or unrefined cane sugar.
I try and make all the kids sweet treats and jelly just happens to be a new favourite!
It really couldn't be easier to make and it's so good for you and the flavours you can make are endless.

 Berry Jelly and Apple & Cinnamon Jelly

What you need:
500g of fruit of choice - frozen fruit works just as well as fresh
500ml water
1/2 vanilla pod - scrapped of its seeds
heaped teaspoon of cinnamon (apple jelly only)
1 tablespoon of sweetener of your choice - I would use rice malt or cane sugar because they are flavourless
a squeeze of lemon
1 tablespoon of great lakes gelatin

How to make it:
Cook everything together (except the gelatin) bring to a simmer and cook for 20min
Taste and adjust your sweetener if needed - my kids don't like it to sweet

Once ready pass it through a sieve being careful not to push the pulp through if you want a clear jelly, if you're not fussed push all the juice out.

Check that you have 500ml of liquid and bring to back up to a boil - turn off the heat and whisk in your gelatin till its all dissolved, then pour into your moulds.

My perfect dessert would be jelly with finely diced fresh strawberries and homemade runny custard.

©Michelle Schoeps 2013

All recipes and photos by Michelle Schoeps