As a Mum I understand the importance of ensuring that my children are fed healthy and nutritious meals, and by and large all the food they eat is homemade by me, the exception being fish fingers (but they contain fish which is good for them!). Even if my boys are reluctant to eat vegetables, I make sure that their meals contain them somehow even if I have to grate or blend them into my sauces, because I know that what you eat on the inside benefits you on the outside.
I cannot always afford organic everything, but I do try to buy some organic food items because I believe that the quality is better and contaminent free, and many nutritionists reccommend buying organic. However, what did not occur to me was that by washing my fruit and vegetables in tap water, I am in fact exposing food that my children eat, to contaminents such as lead, chlorine and pesticides. I honestly never considered this and was actually genuinely shocked! You see without a water filter, the scum you see flaoting on the top of your cup of tea or the chlorine you can sometimes smell when you put your tap on, can also affect the flavours and taste of the food you eat! For more information about the benefits of using filtered water in your cooking, please see here
I was recently asked to try filtered water in my cooking, and I thought what better way to taste the difference than to make a summer soup, a meal which is made from mostly water and using lots of fresh and in season vegetables I hoped that the benefits would enhance their flavours immensely. Therefore, I made a Summer Minestrone Soup – a light and delicate soup perfect for showcasing this seasons vegetables and filtered water.
- 1 large leek, thinly sliced and quartered
- 1 large courgette, chopped into small quarters
- 75g peas (fresh or fozen)
- 75g broad beans
- ½ head of broccoli, ends chopped off
- 6 asparagus stems, chopped into small pieces
- 1 cup of tiny pasta - pasta for soup or baby pasta or chopped up spaghetti would all work
- 2 pints of boiled filtered water
- 2 organic vegetable stock cubes
- 1 tsp garlic
- black pepper
- nutmeg
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- handful of fresh chopped basil or mint
- Place the oil into a deep pan on a low heat and add the garlic and leeks and cook gently to allow the leeks to sweat. Add ½ tsp nutmeg and mix in
- after 5 minutes, turn the heat up slightly and add the courgettes and continue to cook for another 5 minutes
- Then add all the other vegetables, the pasta, the water and stock cube and bring to the boil
- Then reduce the heat and sllow to simmer for about 10 minutes until the pasta and the veg are cooked, but be careful not to over cook the vegetables
- About 2 minutes before the cooing is complete add your herbs and stir through
- Add black pepper to season the soup
- Serve with bread
Not only does this soup look so hearty, healthy and I think pretty, in a green vegetable kind of way, it tastes so good. It was quite delicate and lightly flavoured, perfect for a summers day, and made a change for me from the tomato based soups I tend to make.
However, don’t take my word for it why not cook with filtered water yourself? The advantages of filtered water over tap water speak for themselves.
I was sent a voucher for taking part in this challenge
Linking to Thinly Spread and Tinned Tomatoes
Carolin
Ewww I never considered that, but you’re absolutely right. I had never thought of all the chemicals that are in our water and it really makes sense to filter it beforehand. Takes no time really, does it?
I bet this soup tasted twice as nice knowing that you’ve got no nasties in them. Will definitely try the recipe. I haven’t stopped thinking of this since you showed me the picture the other day x
HELEN
what a lovely looking soup Jenny! Sometimes I can taste the water on the salad that I’ve just washed as it’s so strong – I try & use filtered water whenever I remember now!
Emily @amummytoo
That sounds lovely and your pics are gorgeous. Hmmm, wondering if I should get a water filter. Thanks so much for linking up with #recipeoftheweek. I’ve pinned this post to my food board and a tweet will go out later 🙂
Simple Vegetarian Pasta Dishes for Pasta Please! - thinlyspread.co.uk
[…] but not least this month is a swansong for summer with Mummy Mishap’s Summer Minestrone Soup – packed full of seasonal vegetables and herbs it really is summer in a […]