Pork soup

The cold being upon us again and it being nearly a month since the last one, noticed at reference 1, we thought to take pork soup for lunch again today, snapped on the stove above, nearly ten minutes late.

Intended to start at around 13:00, the soup was started at 11:30 by bringing three ounces of pearl barley to boil in three pints of water, conveniently measured by the lines inside the saucepan. Pints or litres.

About a pound of tenderloin, sliced as before, added around 12:15. Quick blast of heat from below to bring it back to simmering.

Two and a half onions (the half being left over from something that BH had been up to) added around 12:30. No celery on this occasion.

Half a white cabbage, leaves slivered and core chopped, together with a few ounces of left over boiled brown rice, added around 12:45. The rice instead of the potatoes of last time around.

Wash a pack of Costcutter button mushrooms, for which I had ventured out on the bicycle for a second time that cold & frosty morning, having not thought to check before I went out the first time around. Plus the last Guardian in the store by way of a bonus, from which I learn, inter alia, that we are interfering with what might be thought to be the gender rights of the Scottish Parliament. A tricky subject on which I dare say there are plenty of different views. I do not have one myself, but let's hope we have good, substantial grounds for interference in their domestic affairs. Where by substantial I mean more than just posturing vis-à-vis the Nationalists.

Remove and slice the stalks. Add them to the brew just before 13:00.

Serve, as mentioned above, a little late. We did a bit more than half on this occasion, leaving the balance for tomorrow. It won't be as good having stood for a day, but it will still be pretty good. In any event, good grub for a cold day. Taken, in my case, with a little brown bread.

Stewed red plums from South Africa for dessert. Their second outing. Good plums, even if it was rather a long way for them to come, presumably in the hold of some half empty jumbo in the way of cut flowers from Central America.

References

Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/12/pork-soup-redux.html.