02/10/2022
Thoughts for Autumn
That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou see'st the twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth in the west,
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death's second self, that seals up all in rest.
In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the death-bed whereon it must expire,
Consum'd with that which it was nourish'd by.
This thou perceiv'st, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long.
~ William Shakespeare Sonnet 23
~ Beautiful soup! Who cares for fish, game, or any other dish? Who would not give all else for two pennyworth only of beautiful soup? ~ Lewis Caroll - resident of Croft-on-Tees.
The leaves are turning and starting to fall ... the weather is brisk with a chill in the morning air and at evening twilight. Nightfall is earlier and the dawn comes late. Time to cheer the constitution with warming, healthy soup. One of my favourite food memories has to be the Autumn soup we often had when I was a child. Everything in it came from my father’s allotment garden: potatoes, carrots, onions and swedes. Back then it was simmered for hours so that the vegetables melted into a thick, warming broth with a few strokes of a whisk. Today, the velvet consistency can be easily achieved in a blender. Soup is truly a wonderful thing. It’s cheap to make, it’s easy to make. It tastes better on day two; it can be frozen and kept for much later. It has infinite variation, and it seems to have the capacity to resurrect the past better than most other foods. One whiff of pea and ham and I am transported back several decades to my grandmother’s scullery kitchen in County Durham. Pass me a spoon …
from Northern Counties Cook Book https://pge.me/NorthernCounties
~ Pea and Ham Soup ~ Page 20
