The focus being on Ravilious’s wood engravings on the Post this week (for there is always the possibility that Tirzah Garwood stepped in to help him and did one or two, we shall never know) which means we have rather ignored the recipes in The Country Life Cookery Book. They are all useful but sometimes curious. Take this recipe for Young Carrot Soup: scrape a pound of young carrots and put them with two onions, a bayleaf and a little salt into two and a half  pints of water. Boil and simmer for three or four hours, then sieve the carrots only into another saucepan and strain the liquid over them. Cook for a little longer, season with pepper and then serve after binding with yolk of egg or a little cream. Three or four hours? Why?