Cauliflower and zucchini soup leftovers become a delicious pasta sauce

Last week I posted my favourite cauliflower and zucchini soup recipe and promised I would share my left overs plan. Personally I am fine with left overs but it can be fun to serve a meal a different way the second time. It certainly helps to minimise time spent in the kitchen after work too. 

Vegetable soups make great pasta sauces.  Boil your favourite pasta and drain. Meanwhile add your soup to the saucepan and gently heat. You might like to add some extra vegetables.  Tonight I added sliced mushrooms,  artichoke hearts, and shallots.  When hot, add the pasta and heat a little longer. 

Serve with parmesan and a garnish of fresh herbs. Enjoy: one recipe two ways.

Wheels within wheels: photo of the day

Queen Victoria Markets, Melbourne, awesome fresh fruit and vegetable on sale

Marvellous Melbourne.  

The Queen Victoria markets are so wonderful. 

If I lived in Melbourne I'd head to the markets every weekend for fresh produce, cheeses, bread, wine and flowers. I'm sad there is nothing like it near where I live.  

Click play to hear how the market sounded while you view my photos below: 

Vintage furniture salvage from freecycle restoration projects

I was fortunate enough to pick up some gorgeous vintage furniture today. I love great furniture restoration projects.  I have done up several outdoor chairs and tables of various types. I have a couple of old bird cage stands and plant stands but I have left these as found as the patina of peeling paint can look really fantastic.

I saw a post on the local chapter of freecycle yesterday offering furniture.  I spied this wonderful cabinet in a photo promoting another item.  I loved it so quickly replied to ask for it. Howard helped me collect it this morning.  I've never seen another quite like it. It has that gritty industrial look that is so in at the moment. It is a cross between a school locker and a factory desk.

 I am not going to repaint it, just clean the old sticky tape residue off.  The plywood top is covered in contact so we will put some new timber on top. We have some recycled flooring that should fit nicely.

 Look what I found inside the drawer. How groovy! Very shagadelic. I will fight Howard to keep this.

This contact is more worn out but still very laugh in!  I am so excited by this little find.   While we at the house collecting the cupboard we noticed some great outdoor furniture so contacted the owner who said we could go ahead and take this rocking chair.  It will be a great match to one I already have.  The chair I will paint black.

 And this really beautiful plant stand. Its hard to tell in this photo but its pale yellow and really fancy.  I'm not sure if I will paint it. Its really rough but I'll clean it up with a wire brush then see how it looks.

Aren't they great finds.  I keep imagining what they would have cost me in an antique shop around here and am very grateful.

You can see some of my previous projects here, here and here.

@homespunbliss now on twitter

I have signed up for a twitter account. I know, I know, not exactly an early adopter!

I didn't bother before because I don't have a smart phone but actually, its just fine on my laptop.

I am really enjoying it - working out who to follow, working out how to get followers. Finding wonderful homespun information about bees, gardening, growing food, yoga and all sorts of other homespunbliss.  I set myself a goal of gaining 20 followers in my first week and I have just reached that. Thanks everyone.

So now if the blog format does not work for you, or you want instant updates, you can follow my journey to homespunbliss on Twitter @homespunbliss, on pinterest Jodie Healy @homespunblissblog.

Favourite cauliflower and zucchini soup recipe

I made a quick and easy soup for dinner when I got home this evening. This warm, hearty soup is comforting after busy days at work. Its summer but has been wet for days so wintery soup seemed to hit the spot.  And its zucchini season here so this recipe is a good way to use them up.

Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower, chopped

1 zucchini, chopped

1 can coconut milk or evaporated milk

olive oil

grated parmesan

salt and pepper

Method

Throw cauliflower and zucchini in a large saucepan with drizzling of olive oil.

Put lid on pan and put on medium heat and steam vegetables for about 5 minutes.  Be careful not to burn the bottom of the pan.

Add coconut milk or the lower fat evaporated milk.  Heat until vegetables are soft.  Add seasoning to taste.

Blend soup until smooth.

Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan and toast.  

Please let me know what you think. I hope you really enjoy it.  Tune in tomorrow to find out how I re-purpose the left overs into a new meal idea. 

Mmm. 

Soothing Tea

Soothing chamomile with honey to wind down during a busy day.

Day 2 bee keeping course with Bruce White

Amazing day 2 of the bee keeping course.  This is what a swarm looks like: terrifyingly beautiful. 

After the swarm was dropped the bees flooded back into the hive as a dark safe place. 

I took heaps of photos so stay tuned because I will post more as I sort and label them.

We came home with heaps of knowledge, practical experience and a jar full of the freshest, tastiest honey imaginable.

Extracting the honey gets the heart rate up.

Thanks to Andrew Britton, Bruce White and smallfarmsnetwork. 

Bee keeping course with Small farms network and Bruce White

Day 1 of a bee keeping course in Berry was wonderful.

Howard bravely held a frame teaming with bees! He didn't get stung but I did. Youch. It hurt but I've had worse I guess.

Fabulous frame covered in bee brood - or baby bees safely cocooned in their cells. I marked some drone bees, the ones that mate with virgin Queens, with a red whiteboard marker. Learning about bees is quite scandalous in mixed company! 

Honeycomb! Yum. Worker bees making honey. How gorgeous.

Just a taster - more tomorrow.

Guerrilla knitting Melbourne style

Guerrilla knitting Melbourne style. I loved these knitting and crochet covered trees in the heart of Melbourne.  Guerrilla knitting is one of my favourite public art forms. It enhances the natural elements of the urban environment, its colourful and creative. It an be recycled. And it is not destructive.

Love it.