Column: Karen Wright - Feeding the birds, and a warming winter soup

Now that we are in full lockdown once again, I have been thinking around how I am going to stay motivated and pass the time as I follow the guidelines to stay at home. It is more challenging this time due to it being winter and spending time in the garden is not going to be something I will be doing much of. There is life in our gardens though, the birds are still out there, and they really need help through these coldest months.

Birdwatching through your window is a great thing to do. There are of course things you can put out for the birds to eat, such as scraps of pastry, cooked or uncooked, cooked bacon rind, or bits of hard cheese.

There are fat balls to hang up that you can buy when you do your weekly shop, or you can go online and check out how to make things and what is safe for birds. It is lovely to sit with a cuppa and watch them enjoy a meal.

Last week I mentioned a leek and potato soup recipe. Soup is a big favourite in winter, and it is the easiest thing to make from scratch.

This recipe has just five ingredients, plus salt and pepper, and takes less than half an hour to make.

You need one very large potato, one large leek, one large knob of butter, a teaspoon of Dijon mustard, one vegetable stock cube, and a sixth ingredient is a splash of optional cream. This is what I did:

I didn’t peel the potato, I just washed it, cut it into small cubes and boiled in a pan of water. Meanwhile I very gently cooked the sliced leek in the butter, in a frying pan. I made a jug of stock with 600ml water and the stock cube.

When the potato was cooked, I drained off the liquid and added the leek, the mustard and most of the stock using the same pan. I brought this all to the boil and then reduced to a simmer for about ten minutes.

Add the remaining stock depending on the consistency you prefer. To serve, add salt and pepper to taste and an optional splash of cream. You can use a plant based alternative to keep it vegan!

The only other big new in my life this week was that my mam got her first dose of the Covid vaccine.

She had it done at Sandal Rugby Club and we are so happy she was called. The system in place was very smooth and safe and It is just brilliant that before we know it we will all be invited to have our vaccination and can then start to focus on brighter times ahead.

Stay safe