fabulous fennel

It's been an interesting week with just a few ups and downs. Not that anything major has happened - just the cycle of feelings about life circumstances I guess. I started out feeling quite at peace with the world, happy with my place in it.

Until Saturday.

Then I started to feel miserable about the hand I've been dealt. I decided to skip church this morning so I could take time out to pray and reflect. God didn't provide any astounding answers, just the encouragement to keep on believing, to push through to that place of peace with him. I've tried valiantly not to wallow in self-pity since.

But if you're down - what better way to get over it than to cook!

So tonight I cooked fennel soup!

What's fennel, you ask? (see attached picture) It's one of those odd vegetables I've never bought before. I think I may have bought it because I thought it would make me look sophisticated. I'm not sure. It was a couple of weeks ago. I shop in a small green grocers where the discerning go to buy fruit and vegetables of truly superior quality. The exclusive quality of the fruit and vegetables on offer results in a high proportion of snobby shoppers who ooze sophistication and style. The remainder of us bum along, content in the knowledge that we are amongst the discerning vegetable shoppers of the city. Except every now and then, I want to fit in with the snobs. So I bought fennel. In the hope it would make me look like I was a sophisticated cook.

The problem is the fennel has been sitting in the fridge growing mould ever since, while I've been rueing my sophistication driven buy and pondering what on earth I would do with it!

Tonight I resorted to searching the internet for fennel recipes (found some good ones, so I might have to buy more fennel!) before discovering a recipe for Creamy Fennel Soup in one of my very own recipe books. I cooked it up and yum yum, a creamy, slightly licorishy soup was the happy result.

I feel bouyed by my culinary success and shall sleep happy and long tonight, at peace with the world and happy with my place in it. (hehehe)