I was entranced to hear that the British poet Ian McMillan used to tuck a poem into his children’s packed lunches before school each morning. I’d pay good money for someone to do that for me, although I did once have a boyfriend who used to put a rose in my handbag every time I left the house. That was, I suppose, a little bit of poetry in itself.
Today the frost has finally come and I have a yearning to make butterbean and peanut soup, a recipe my mother used to make. She would stand at the Aga stirring the soup with the bread knife because she thought it was the only utensil anyone ever really needs. It cuts, it stirs and it spreads she would say, and that pretty much covers most things – unless you have a penchant for piped potatoes which I really don’t.
I’m going to eat my soup reading Ode to the West Wind by Percy Bysshe Shelley. And I might even tuck a copy of it into my own handbag afterwards.
Butterbean and Peanut Soup
Serves 6
500g dried butterbeans
1 litre vegetable stock
6 tablespoons crunchy peanut butter
Salt and pepper
Chives
Soak the butterbeans in 1.5 litres of cold water for 24 hours. Drain and rinse well and then put them in a pan with another 1.5 litres of cold water. Bring to the boil and let the beans bubble briskly for 10 minutes, skimming the water as you go. After ten minutes reduce the heat and cook gently for another ten minutes. Tip away the water and replace with the vegetable stock – Marigold Bouillon powder is good for this – and bring to a gentle boil. Add the peanut butter and continue to cook gently for an hour, adding more water if you need to.
Adjust the seasoning at the end and serve with a scattering of chopped chives. This, I have to confess, is as much an aesthetic as a taste thing. Beige soup needs a little colour in its life, just like we do.
Another riot of colour, interesting intro and lovely soup. The combination would take a lot of beating.
That looks like proper sustenance and very pretty. I'm inspired!
Thanks very much Jakey – the soup is very good value too
Hi Sarah I'm glad – and flattered – to have inspired you! x
I really like those plates and that shot of the frost is very cool, but most of all I love the story, and not just because I feel the same way about a fork as your mom feels about a butter knife. My friends make fun of me whenever they see me eating ice cream with it, but I believe that whatever you can't get with the fork is either not worth getting, or worth sticking your entire head in to get.
I completely agree with you about the fork Anna. And I'm so glad you enjoyed the story …
and didn't you love the John Cage 4 Minutes of Silence he chose! Pity they couldn't play it all…I used to have an old friend who made a mean veg soup with peanut butter in it – she had lived in South Africa I always thought that's where the recipe came from…
Hi Liz I adored the 4 Minutes of Silence too! So glad you see the value of it…
Love the site, & the photos are gorgeous, with excellent colour saturation.
The butterbean soup with peanut butter is delicious, though I cheated & saved
24 hours by usung tinned beans.
Thank you very much, jaybee, Certain things are scary in tins, but canned butterbeans are excellent.