better a mile wide than an inch deep

/squee

half cup almonds
quarter cup sunflower oil
quarter cup tamari or soy sauce
quarter cup water
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried thyme
250g mushrooms
1 onion, peeled

Preheat the oven to 350F (175C).

Lightly oil a baking dish.

Slice the onions and mushrooms. It's easiest to do this in a food processor with a slicing blade. Tip them into the baking dish.

Change the slicing blade for a chopping blade. Process the almonds until finely chopped.

Add the oil, tamari, water, vinegar, garlic, and herbs to the almonds and process again.

Pour the sauce over the vegetables and bake the dish for thirty minutes.

Serves four as a side dish.

1 tablespoon sunflower oil
4 large leeks
4 large potatoes
4 stalks asparagus
2 litres (8 cups) vegetable stock
a good grinding of black pepper and a pinch of salt
1 carton plain soy yoghurt or a cup of soymilk (optional)

Trim the root ends and any dead leaves from the leeks, and cut the woody ends off the asparagus. Peel the potatoes.

Rinse all the vegetables, and then either slice them thickly or run them through the large grating plate of the food processor.

Warm the oil in a soup pot and add the vegetables, sauteeing them over a medium heat for a few minutes, stirring often, until the leeks soften.

Pour in the stock and turn up the heat.

As soon as the soup boils, turn down the heat and leave it to simmer for ten or fifteen minutes until the potatoes are tender.

Ladle the soup into a blender and puree the soup until very smooth, being very careful with the steam, and then pour the soup back into the pot. Or puree the soup with an immersion blender, but I think a regular blender works better.

Add the pepper, salt, and yoghurt or milk, if using. Add extra water if the soup's too thick. Simmer a minute or two more, and serve.

Notes:
- Slicing or grating the potatoes too finely will make them stick to the pot.
- Don't use white asparagus. White asparagus needs peeling which is a drag and it doesn't taste quite as good.
- It is possible to make this soup without oil; simply put the prepared vegetables in a pot with the water and proceed as per recipe. The finished soup isn't quite as richly flavoured but it is still terrific.

This soup makes six to eight bowls and came out so well that everyone, even the people who dislike vegetables, had second helpings. I named it in honour of the enormous bucket of frogspawn that Liam and I rehomed from the garden pond to the forest pool today.

Some youtube links for your viewing and listening pleasure:

Greig's Hall of the Mountain King played by Apocalyptica. Come for the exquisite classical music, stay for the long-haired half-naked biker dudes playing it whilst on speed. Unf! (Thanks to Rakshanda for the link.)

White & Nerdy featuring the Doctor! Oh, how I laughed. And while I'm on the subject, how about the Doctor Who theme played on Tesla Coils? (Thanks to Itsaslashything and Maychorian.)