The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea
In a beautiful pea green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
‘O lovely Pussy! O Pussy my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are,
You are, You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!’
A last fling Pea and Mint Summer Soup
Pea and Mint go together don’t they, and this soup is light enough for summer, which is just as well as that is when they are both growing in the garden! The peas have had their last fling, over until next year, a few boxes have made it into the freezer for some winter reminders of how good summer tastes, but for now my attention turns to the beans and yes those courgettes. And speaking of courgettes, they also make a super-soup (thanks to Pseu for the tip!)
This is an un-recipe, without precise volumes and measurements. Cooked by eye and touch, and with what I have to hand. There are plenty of recipes out there, from Nigella to Nigel to name just two; I used them for inspiration and general ideas, then promptly made my own, I’m sure you will do the same!
- Finely chop half an onion or a few Spring Onions (Green Onions), and saute in a saucepan for a few minutes on a gentle heat. Meanwhile chop a couple of potatoes into chunks, when the onion has softened add the potatoes.
- Take your bowl of peas, any bowl will do! and remove a small handful and put them to one side, then add the remainder of peas to your pan.
- Now add either boiling water or vegetable stock, (nothing too strong we want the simple flavours to shine through) enough to amply cover the peas and potatoes – you can always add more if it looks too little after they have cooked.
- Give it a stir, bring it to the boil and then simmer for approximately 15 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked.
- Now add a handful of mint leaves, fresh is best and then take the pan off the heat.
- If you have a stick blender now’s the time to use it, whooz and whir the soup mix so it is thoroughly blended, nice and smooth is how I like it.
- Put the pan back on the heat and bring back to simmering, check the seasonings – what does it need? A pinch of salt, more mint, maybe a dash of white wine, you decide!
- Now add your handful of peas that you put to one side and let the soup cook for a few more minutes.
To serve it I like it with a couple of fresh mint leaves and a squeeze of lemon, but you can add creme fraiche if you like, I won’t tell anyone! I wouldn’t necessarily advise you serve it in a pea green bowl, it sort of get’s lost, but the bowl is such a pretty one – a precious present from a special friend. And because I ate my pea green soup from a pea green bowl I’ve had the poem the Owl and the Pussy Cat in my mind all day.
Puss-Cat is a friends cat, who I’m feeding and tickling while his human pets are on their holidays. We have high-powered executive meetings in the afternoon, I take my work round and he helps and advises. The thing is we never seem to do that much work, unless you count purring, playing with pens, being tickled and having your belly rubbed – his not mine!
What a beautiful pussycat and a beautiful soup in that very cool pea green bowl. The soup make you feel cooler just looking at it! Such a fun post, Claire!
Thank you Betsy! I think the bowl is just so pretty, it’s fine and delicate, I just nee dto find other things to put in it instead of pea green soup 🙂
Your friend’s puss is a sweet looking boy. 🙂
I love the poem inspiration for this pea soup. By the way, MNOP… all in this post.
I’m trying to work out what MNOP stands for but am struggling !
Garden alphabet … M for Mint, N for Nigella (seeds), O for Onion and P for Peas. 🙂
Doh!!! I think somedays I really should wake up !!
Such a delicious looking & light tasting soup. I still have some peas growing, so I’ll try that soup tonight! Oh, and Puss-Cat looks darling! What a busy round of days that you have, with those high-profile meetings, ha ha ha 🙂
So you still have peas growing as well, lovely ! And yes, my high level meeting consiste dof me and the cat mucking about rather too much, hopefully I’ll get a day in the garden soon 🙂
Yes, peas still growing . .they are the edible pod type that are very mature and oh, so sophisticated, ha ha! And those are the very best high level meetings to have … no stress. 🙂
Sounds delicious! The peas are long gone around here, so it will have to wait until next year!
It’s a lovely soup – kind of light but still tasty and fillinng 🙂
KITTY!!!!! I have 3 kitty children who are professionals at knowing how to keep me out of working! Enjoy your kitty sitting time.
Lovely soup!
🙂 Mandy
🙂 He’s a cutie isn’t he Mandy! Although he’s quite an elderly gentleman now, and does A LOT of sitting around and lazing 🙂
Meant to add when are we going to see some more photos !
Good recipe and a nice reminder of another thing we can do with the mint…be careful with those cats, somehow they seem to stick around…;-)
We use a fair bit of mint in simer, it goes so well with a squueze of lemon on summer veggies/salads of courgettes, carrots.
Luckily he’s a real stay-at-home-pusscat, so no worries there !
This poem reminds me of my grandmother 🙂
Oh, happy memories then !
I love Edward Lear’s poetry. Your soup looks pretty, too.
I haven’t explored much of his, but I do remember I had a wonderful book of the poem, with beautiful illustrations, but sadly I have no idea what happened to it…..
Mmm…the soup looks yummy–“Beautiful, beautiful soup.” In blog reader, full titles do not display, so I thought at first the cat’s name was Soup. Ha!
Ha, I rather like that idea for a name 🙂
What a cute kitty!
He’s a real softie and quite shy
Great Post – loving your pics:)
Thank you 🙂
That is a picture perfect pussycat! I have so many unrecipes! They are my favorite kind and this sounds so very good. Peas and mint do seem to be a good blend of flavors and the final squeeze of lemon must make the flavors explode!
I love un-recipes, simple and tasty too, !I have to admit to adding lemon to a lot of things, especially warm salads 🙂
Once a cat decides your desk is a play area, there’ll be no stopping him. He is a handsome little guy and this soup of yours must taste incredible! I’m glad you were able to freeze some. They will be extra tasty come mid-winter.
He’s a funny cat John, quite shy normally and not a lap cat, but becasue his been on his own for a few days he lets you know that he wants attention and he wants it NOW 🙂
That is one of my favourite poems ever, but I learned it to music as a song! The soup looks very tasty – did Pussy cat get some too?!
I don’t think I’ve ever heard it sung to music before Cathy. and no, I wasn’t prepared to share any 😉
How comforting a big bowl of soup and a purring kitty cat! I also am a dash of this and a dash of that cook and am glad to hear your the same. Take Care, BAM
It’s a good combination isn’t it BAM, and thank you 🙂
Love “The Owl & the Pussycat” and their pea green boat as well as your beautiful pea green soup. Wouldn’t it be fun to eat your pea green soup in a pea green boat on a turquoise sea?
That would definitely be FUN teresa!! Living by the sea, maybe I should arrange it…..
Oh, how wonderful, the cat’s purr… beautiful post!
Thank you Shimon, I know you are fond of cats too, and this fellow has a VERY loud purr !
What a cute cat!
My kids have been asking for a cat forever but I am worried that a cat and two kids in one apartment is a recipe for disaster
Love the pea and mint combo..so refreshing and summery
Its such a juggle isn’t it, and of course you know who will end up looking after the kitty, once it has grown up a bit don’t you 😉
I adore the pairing of mint and peas! What a refreshing ode to summer’s bounty.
A friend shared a recipe for seared scallops on a bed of puréed mint and peas. A stunning and tasty recipe for a special occasion. Cat lover that I am, I am smiling at the adorable photos!
Thank you Deb, I love mint with summer veggies – it’s sort of sharp and sweet at the sam etime isn’t it. I have to say your friends pairing of seared scallops on a bed of peas sounds absolutely divine, in fact inspiring !!
The soup looks lovely in the green bowl – I’ll have to wait till spring to try this recipe though as our peas have been over for a couple of months now. Much too hot for them!
Ah yes, much too hot now. For me this yearhas been very different as I picked peas until much later than normal. Just shows how cool our summer has been.
My grandfather used to recite that poem (and then lament about how in his day, rote memorization was king in education) and you just brought back such happy memories for me – thank you!
How lovely that I could help bring back some happy memories!
Enjoyed your post Claire! Love your kitty 🙂
He’s a cutie, very gentle and soft
A lovely post that made me smile. I love the pea green soup in the pea green bowl.
Thank you Karen, they are such pretty delicate bowls
Such a light and delicious sounding soup, Claire. I love peas and mint, and soup! Soup travels well between home and work, or if I’m going down to my daughter’s and want to be prepared for lunch or dinner on my own. I do love my stick blender, too! I think you may have spoiled the kitty with so much fun. He is looking very sweet and cuddly in those pictures. He may want to have more of an attitude when his family returns…my pets seem to adopt an aloof and rather dismissive mood when we return from a holiday! Debra
Stick blenders are fantastic aren’t they, I just shove it in the pan and away I go – so simple!
We have a kitty that looks very much like your friend except ours is also colored with black – but the same little smudge around her nose! She’s my sleeping partner – never misses a night curled up on top of me as soon as I hit the sheets.
Aaawwww 🙂 I miss having cats, but helping out when friends are away gives me some kitty time !
Ginger there is a very handsome Puss-Cat indeed. Your sweet little bowl is absolutely perfectly suited to the soup!