Hello Dear Ones. I hope everyone is in good health.
I’m still improving, and will be going for tea with friends in a little while. Which is good. It will be a slow walk to their house, but it will do me good to get out.
I thought I would share with you something I made before Christmas – a friend asked me to calligraph something for her 4 grandchildren. I was quite pleased with the results:
I really do need to improve my photography skills! Still, I hope you can see them well enough. I was quite pleased with them.
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Another bit of creativity was some soup that I made today – I was up to chopping the veg with my right hand, but the pan-lifting had to be done with my left (scar on the right breast) It was very nice
- 1kg leeks, finely chopped in a food processor
- 1kg sweet potato, peeled and finely chopped in a food processor
- 50g butter
- 1tbsp Light and mild olive oil
- 2tsp ground turmeric
- 1tsp each of ground clove, coriander, cumin, mild chilli and cardamom
- Generous sprinkling of ground sea salt and black pepper
- 11/2 pints Vegetable stock
- 300ml single cream
- 50g fresh coriander leaf, finely chopped, leaving a few whole leaves for garnish
- Gently sweat the shredded leek in the butter and olive oil for 5 minutes to soften. Stir in the spices and cook for a further 3 minutes. Add the sweet potato, seasoning and stock. Bring to a gentle simmer. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
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Whiz in batches in a food processor with the single cream and coriander until smooth. Top with the coriander leaf
I chopped the vegetables rather than using a food processor – less washing up and I couldn’t have lifted the food processor anyway! I used less butter and oil, and less cream. I actually used 3 tbsp of 15% creme fraiche, which was plenty. I also missed out the fresh coriander. 
I’m pleased with how I’m feeling now I’m doing stuff rather than just moping.
View from the Teapot 
The soup sounds delicious and the calligraphy is beautiful. I’ve never heard the name Syrielle before – how is it pronounced?
Thank you, Bev. The soup is indeed very tasty – I forgot to say that I put in a dollop of Rogan Josh curry paste too, which added to the flavour.
The name Syrielle is pronounced like Cyril but with “ell” at the ent – Sih’ree’yell (if that helps!) It’s not a common name in France, so I think my friend Martine had some difficulty finding information about its origins.
Syrielle is indeed a beautiful name. I bet the children were delighted with their gifts!
It is a nice name, but I think it is more feminine than masculine – it ios a boy’s name.
That soup sounds lovely! I will have to give it a go 😊
I recommend it!