Carmel's Somers' Step-by-step Cooking Solutions

Vegetable Soup with Parsley Pesto

This soup should be the staple dish of any kitchen. It uses whatever vegetables you may have in your store cupboard, softened, then cooked simply with water. The secret of the soup is in sweating the vegetables for some time, until they produce their own liquid, which flavours the soup. Carmel garnishes this soup with a quickly made parsley pesto, but you could use a jar of ordinary pesto as well. Step by Step instructions >>>

Rich Brown Bread

Here Carmel demonstrates the technique of making a no-knead brown soda bread. She increased the amount for the bread made in this photo session ­ making three lovely loaves. The amount given in this recipe is for two loaves. The liberal use of eggs and olive oil in this recipe makes a soft, crumbly bread that keeps better than most soda breads. For the seeds in this recipe we added pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, whole wheat berries, and wheat germ. Step by Step instructions >>>

Carmel Somer's Good Things Café is now open, on the Ahakista Road heading out of Durrus, West Cork, between the two churches. Tel: (027) 61426