Preserving Potato & Leek Soup, & Beetroot

 I managed this week to finish off planting the leek seedlings. This meant digging up all the leeks from the old bed and some beautiful beetroot to make room in a new bed. The new bed had some lovely soil so not too hard planting but the weather was hot and draining, yet today it is cool again. 

Last year I froze all the big leeks that ended up in the kitchen, by chopping them all up, and then using handfuls of frozen leek pieces when cooking. This year I decided to preserve them in a soup, in my pint bottles with the pressure cooker. I also used my vacola bottles which work just as well as the Balls brand.

The beetroot I did in plain water so it can be used in anything from a dip to hot for a meal. The soup is in chicken stock with potato and carrots as well as leeks, and can be heated up as is or added to with other vegetables, or meat.

All set to fill bottles, carrots from the garden also.

Now to find a space of where to store them.

Miss P came yesterday and I am feeling really tired today, as usual, the price of getting old, and  we weeded the back rose garden, which was way overdue, lots of digging, but it looks very nice. I am going to put more free mulch on as well, and sweep the false grass. The aborists have been very busy in this area and the pile of mulch getting bigger. So lucky they have a spot to dump it at the beginning of a forest walk, in the corner of a small car park. It always disappears as well.

 Interestingly as this path has been an experiment, the part where the weed mat was hasn't any nut grass under it except on the edges but the part without has long nut grass under it. So another project to finish properly.

 The hippeastrums are all flowering as well, I wish they weren't so expensive at anywhere between $15 - $50 just for one bulb or I would get more.

Miss P was complaining how her year 7 cooking class was not very exciting or challenging, they made hamburgers from scratch, so I decided to teach her how to make an upside down cake, this time apricot , as I had a tin of them. 

 

Turned out lovely and I love apricots so been very nice with a cup of tea, and heated for dessert with ice cream.

 

 Till Next Time, stay safe.