Keep Calm and Make Soup

February 1st is St Brigid's Day and, in Ireland, it is traditionally regarded as the first day of Spring.
This year Ireland was battered by Atlantic storm Brigid, causing major flooding in coastal communities.
We checked the weather forecasts,  tapped the barometer, listened to the wind, and hoped we'd be safe.
Luckily the wind dropped just in time and the high tide on St Brigid's Day passed without incident.
There's been another storm, Petra, since then which brought more flooding and hardship. After a night of fitful sleep we arose to find that we had once again escaped safely.
It's calm now and I'm desperately searching for signs  that perhaps Spring isn't too far away, welcoming the snowdrops in the garden, buds on the plants,  and birdsong in the air. Anything is better than the wind and rain.
This is the weather for homemade soup, warming and comforting. My favourite winter soup is leek and potato, rich and creamy, full of natural goodness.

It's a quick and easy soup to make, and with leeks in season and often on special offer this time of year , it makes a cheap and nourishing winter lunch, accompanied by some homemade brown bread.

This is a recipe I've adapted from a couple of cookery books, experimenting until I came up with a version that I like best.
Ingredients
3 leeks, chopped and washed
1 onion, chopped
2 or 3 potatoes, chopped into small cubes
1 litre chicken stock
rinds of parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
olive oil
Method
Gently fry the onions in the olive oil until soft, add the leeks and potatoes and fry for a further 5 minutes. Add the stock and old parmesan rinds (a tip from Nigel Slater's Kitchen Diaries), and season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and then simmer for approximately 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Scrape the melted cheese from the rind, discard the rind itself, and blend the soup.
Delicious served with some crispy fried bacon to garnish.

Living on the Edge

We live on the edge. Almost. Almost on the edge of the Irish sea. There's nowhere I'd rather live.

From our kitchen window, I can see the mountains. If I stand on my toes, I can see the shimmer of sea on the horizon through the bathroom window.

The sea is a constant in my life.  I missed it those short years when I lived away from home while attending college many years ago.

Our daily dog walks take us to the shore and I welcome the opportunity to breath the sea air, listen to the call of the seabirds and clear my head after a day's work.

The estuary and mudflats present an ever changing canvass. 

The sinking winter sun turns the shorefront into a photographer's paradise and reminds us just how beautiful nature can be.
Last week, however, the sea became our enemy. As storm Christine lashed the Irish shores,  the seawater poured over the embankment which protects the low-lying reclaimed land where we live. Fortunately, the levee held but it was a nerve wreaking experience watching the sea flow across the fields, stopping just yards from our home.

As the raging storm coincided with high tides, we spent an anxious few days living on the edge. We'd been flooded before so put our 'flood plan' into action, moving everything upstairs, erecting  the floodgates in the front and back door, packing overnight bags, and planning what we'd do with the pets if we had to move out. 

Luckily our fears weren't realised - this time anyway. 

It's now up to the Irish government to make funds available so that coastal communities don't have to live in fear.
In our case, the county council have plans to raise and strengthen the embankment - a relatively straight forward task once funding is in place.
More complex solutions will be needed elsewhere to protect those living along the coast, including a number of major towns and cities.