the lady who was afraid of 'nothin

my kitchen grown thai basil

I am pretty ok, all considered. I walk the dog, slowly, I seem to get tired quick. But it's good outside. I lounge about as much as I can, I have been knitting a bit and have found a way of doing so without the need of a left thumb, it's slow, but sort of doable and almost satisfying that I am managing. I spend longer than usual in the kitchen (on account of being one handed still) and of course I eat. My teeth have turned strange and see through. Blood loss? General anesthetic? The other whole muddle of drugs I took? Not sure. So I am trying even harder than usual to eat well. And take my supplements. Some think a good probiotic is essential after surgery or trauma or after accident or stress (um, I reckon I tick all of those boxes). I have tried so many over the years, I like Bio Kult, their ingredients are top notch, but the niggle for me is that I don't think their shell capsule is strong enough to withstand the onslaught of the stomach and actually get to where it's supposed to before dissolving. I am using this one, by Kiki which has a tougher shell and is based on soil based organisms. My acupuncturist said if we all just walked around with bare feet we'd do away with the need for consuming such things as probiotics cultured in soil based organisms. I imagine he is right. But living here, in October, my sheepskin boots lure me more then bare feet.



I made tomato soup with the masses of tomatoes I found in my fridge from the nice veggie lady. None from my own plants, I admit. Mine were neglected and withered, because truth be told I am not a tomato fan. But tomato soup (I was a Heinz tomato soup loving child) I do enjoy. So how come I never ever made a plain tomato soup? I make lentil and tomato, or add tomatoes to other soups, for sure. So I finally made my own simple soup. And it was divine. I ate it for breakfast today with a side serving of a hard boiled egg. For my own remembering if anything:

Simple Tomato Soup

2-3 carrots
2-3 sticks of celery
2 leeks or 2 onions
5 cloves of garlic
olive or coconut oil
1-2 litres of good stock (veg or chicken bone, I used the latter)
15 tomatoes, small to medium size
one tin/carton of chopped tomatoes (390g)
sea salt, pepper and possibly an organic stock cube if desired
bunch of chopped basil

~Saute chopped carrots and celery in oil until just turning soft. I used a lovely lovely infused olive oil I made myself. I peeled a whole head of garlic and stick the cloves in a big bottle, added two sprigs of rosemary and topped up the bottle with olive oil, after two weeks it's ready for use and totally fabulous in just about anything.
~Add the peeled and chopped garlic and stock cube if you want.
~Add the hot stock
~Add both sorts of tomatoes, roughly chopped and be sure to add the green stalks from your tomatoes too, they are yummy.
~Bring to the boil and then simmer cover4ed for about 15 mins.
~Add basil and then blend with a hand blender.



Esmé discovered the Autumn/Halloween books. And this is her favourite. Although she likes to say it's called 'The lady who was afraid of 'nothin.



I like it. I wanna be that lady :)



Outdoor fires, nearly every night, because it's dry and mild and still just about light enough. I dole out the marshmallows and they strip the little hazel tree for roasting forks. The dog watched but I am pretty sure with their children's uber sugar vigilance that she received not even a lick.