Tomato soup

Sorry I've no picture of this. I was in a hurry and this is a quick recipe. Very simple to make.

I used three large tomatoes, a stalk of celery, half a red pepper (bell pepper) the juice of half a lemon, a dash of cayenne and a sprinkling of cumin.

This was all put straight into the blender, mixed to a nice consistency and poured into a soup bowl. I'd eaten it before I thought of getting my camera.

This is the first raw soup I've tried. I've always thought of soup as a hot meal and did wonder what this would be like. I knew I could heat it if I didn't like it but there was no need. The fresh ingredients made this very tasty.

Next I will probably try a sort of lasagna with courgettes. If I remember to get the remaining ingredients, that is.

Knowledge and wisdom

“Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.” Or so the saying goes.

At the risk of ruining any reputation for sagacity I’d like to question this. I wonder if the originator of the saying had actually tried it. Have you?

A while ago the Times had a pullout section containing a selection of salad suggestions. I liked the idea of peach and tomato. It sounded an intriguing combination. So I gave it a go. And this is the result.

First make a ring , alternating segments of peach and tomato. I had some blueberries left over so filled the central hole with these. For garnish (and to make it more filling) I used Lamb’s lettuce.

I used it as a first course. I hesitate to use the word starter as that implies a small course and, where I have more than one, they tend to be more equal in size.

Why not surprise your next guests with this. Even if you are not raw it makes a healthy start to a meal.

Red faced but raw

Oh, how embarrassing. Over a year since I last posted.

But I'm back with a vengeance. I have had some health problems and, to my shame, used these as an excuse to reduce the amount of raw food in my diet. Just the opposite of what I should have done. As I result I have put on weight to a dangerous extent, which has to be addressed now or I will suffer the consequences.

I did keep some element of raw food in my diet. Possibly around 50%. But my failing was the meals out when I was under stress.

So, with the doctor's instruction to lose weight or else I have upped the level of raw food once again. The effects were pretty well instantaneous. I feel more alive and, of course the weight has started to drop off. One and a half stone over the last two months and I was still having some cooked potatoes and veg with some meals.

I'll try and sort out some interesting recipes and let you in on how they turn out.

Be back soon.