Redecorating with Soup

31 Jan, 2026

I'm trying to get into soup. It's winter, and it's a warming, simple, food. I was brought up on soup every day so when I left home I rebelled against the molten liquid and never really went back.

However, I feel it's time to embrace it.

I decided to make some celery soup. It is not a challenging make! After the appropriate amount of time for simmering, I wanted to turn it into a smooth soup. Out came the blender, in went the soup (some of it), lid on, press the button.

Whoosh. The lid flies off and the contents of very hot soup exploded in all directions. Luckily it missed me (other than my jumper) or I would have been badly scalded. The rest of the kitchen did not fair so well.

The soup was:

• dripping from the ceiling
• running down the window
• splattered over my cupboard doors
• all over the floor
• oozing along the work tops
• coating the coffee, tea, and sugar containers

Meanwhile, I am standing there thinking "oh my goodness, what a mess" (I have adjusted the language for a more family safe read!)

Clean-up

After standing motionless for about a minute I just had to get on with the decontamination.

Where to start?! I mopped the floor first so that I did not slip and break my neck. I then dealt with the ceiling. Next I lifted the jar of coffee. It slipped out my hand, landed on the floor, the lid flew off, and coffee engulfed the newly clean (and wet) floor.

Once again, more choice language as I watched the coffee slowly turn my floor an ugly dark-brown. At this point all I could think about was if this latest spillage was going to stain my light-coloured tiled floor.

I could have ran away screaming.

It took me almost 90 minutes to clear everything and return the kitchen to some degree of normality.

I will maybe revise the soup idea in another 30+ year's time.

Just in case you are interested, here's the recipe:

Recipe

• 200g chopped celery (about 4 sticks)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, grated finely
• 2 peeled and chopped potatoes
• a little olive oil
• 300ml chicken or veg stock

Method:

Put the celery, onion, and garlic in a pan with a little oil. Sweat it all gently for five minutes until soft. Do not over-heat as the garlic will become bitter and the onions caramelised. Everything should be translucent.

Add the stock and the potatoes. Simmer gently for about 30 minutes.

Tip: Throw the intact tops of the leafy celery in the pan while it simmers. This will add more flavour. Remove the tops when done.

Let it cool down and blend it all (carefully!)

Add black pepper and salt to taste. Enjoy

#Life #Recipe