The countdown is on until we begin our holiday. In 2 days time we will be boarding our flight to the United States. We will be spending 6 nights in Las Vegas, 8 nights in New York and then we have a 5 day stop over in Fiji on the way home. To say I am excited is an understatement! In fact I am so excited I can barely think of anything else, even cooking!
Admittedly, cooking is a little difficult at the moment as we are trying to run down the contents of our refrigerator and pantry before we head off. I find so much inspiration in an abundance of ingredients, that when you have few fresh ingredients around the inspiration tends to falter a little. However, on Sunday, perhaps brought on by the bitingly cold weather, or perhaps because I know holidays tend to mean over indulging, I was struck by a sudden need to make a simple brown rice and vegetable soup. In fact, I almost felt in a relaxed trance as I hovered about the kitchen chopping ingredients and stirring the soup pot, and smiling down at the colourful array of vegetables that I was trying to use up – carrots, green capsicum, mushrooms, tomato, green and purple cabbage. Then, once the soup was done I felt completely content.
The soup was just what I wanted. Delicious, wholesome and oh so comforting.
So, I will leave you for the next 3 weeks with this recipe for this Brown Rice and Vegetable soup. When I return I will have LOTS of photos of our travels to share with you. In addition, I have been given access to take photos inside a pretty special restaurant. I can’t wait to share it with you!
Bon Appétit and see you in 3 weeks!
Brown Rice and Vegetable Soup
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 litres of vegetable stock
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 large cloves of garlic
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 2 cups of chopped mushrooms
- 2 stalks of celery, chopped
- 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
- 1 large tomato, chopped
- 1 green capsicum (pepper), chopped
- 2 cups of shredded cabbage (I used a mixture of purple and green)
- 3/4 of a cup of brown rice
- 2 teaspoons of fresh rosemary,chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup of fresh parsley, to serve
Method:
- Place a large pot over a medium heat. Add the olive oil, onion, celery and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent.
- Add the rosemary, tomato, mushrooms, capsicum, cabbage, salt and pepper, and carrot, as well as the rice and cook until the cabbage begins to soften before adding the vegetable stock.
- Simmer and cook until the rice is softened.
- Stir through the fresh parsley to serve.
