Sadly no snow today, got all excited, BUT soup and bread did happen! And what lovely soup and bread it was. The carrot and oat bread has just became my favorite, with linseed and spelt coming in second.
This is exactly the kind of soup you need to warm yourself, mildly spicy and fragrant, there’s something about chunky soup, it just seems more hearty than the average blended soup, anyhow I hope you enjoy it as much as me and my family have and I will still be keeping my fingers crossed for snow.

Vegetable Chorba.
Cooking time: approx 30 minutes Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1 stalk celery, finely diced
3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
6 cups vegetable stock
1/4 tsp saffron (optional)
3 fresh tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup tomato puree 
approx 75g of thin rice noodles
1 bunch of fresh flat leaf parsley chopped
1 tbsp vegan margarine

Method:
Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the all the veggies until browned slightly. Add the paprika, cumin, turmeric,  smoked paprika fry off for a few seconds. Dissolve the garlic powder and saffron in the stock and add to the pot. Bring to the boil, then down to a simmer, cook for about 15 minutes covered. Add the fresh tomatoes, chopped parsley, tomato puree and rice noodles, cover and cook for a further 8-10 minutes. Stir through vegan margarine and serve in deep bowls.

Carrot oat bread:

Ingredients:
3 cups plain flour
1 cup of stone ground oat meal
1/4 cup jumbo oats
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 cup carrot juice
1/2 cup soy milk
1 tsp cider vinegar

Method:
Preheat the oven to 200c/400f. Mix all your dry ingredients in a bowl, whisking together with a fork. Mix the wet ingredients in a jug or small bowl, whisk together and set aside for a few minutes, make a well in the dry ingredients and add in the wet. Mix together well until no dry bits remain. Place onto a baking sheet lined with baking parchment and gently shape into a round loaf, bake for 30 minutes to 40 minutes, allow to cool before slicing.