Soup's On!
I love this time of year here in TN. The weather is starting to cool down and the nights are getting chilly. This is what I like to call soup weather. I've always loved the smell of a big pot of soup or stew cooking. It's such a comforting, homey smell and even more so when it's cold outside. And I absolutely love to make soup, chili and stew, so I'm always looking for new recipes. I was just curious what type of soups and stews everyone else likes to make during the cold weather months. Will be glad to share some of my own as well :)
Blessings ~
Blessings ~
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by BanksiaFaerie on
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As those nights grow colder for a lot of the pantry members... I thought some of the newer members may find this a nice discussion to dust off and bump back up. :)
BB - Banksia.
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Permalink Reply by Laura Perry on -
Our favorite soup around here is Winter Vegetable Chowder. It's from Deborah Madison's cookbook Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone (a huge cookbook, the size of an unabridged dictionary, full of unimaginable delights - I highly recommend it even if you eat meat, which we do). This is my 'tweaked' version of her recipe. We like it for supper with crusty bread. I've also been known to have the leftovers for breakfast on cold mornings - soup is such a gentle way to start the day.
WINTER VEGETABLE CHOWDER
The Milk:
2 cups milk
3 large parsley branches
1 tsp dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1/2 onion, sliced
10 peppercorns, lightly crushed
Put all the ingredients for the milk into a small saucepan, bring it just to a boil and turn off the heat. Cover and set aside while you prepare the rest of the soup.
The Soup:
2 Tbsp butter or oil
2 large leeks, chopped (white part plus just an inch or so of the greens)
4 cups chopped winter vegetables (I like a mixture of turnips, carrots and celery)
3 good-sized boiling potatoes, diced (peel if you like - I don't)
2 small bay leaves
2 Tbsp chopped parsley
2 Tbsp flour
Salt and pepper
Heat the butter or oil in a large soup pot. Add all the vegetables, the bay leaves and parsley, and 1 1/2 tsp salt. Cover and cook for 10 minutes to soften the veggies. Stir in the flour, coating the veggies well, then add 5 cups water. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer about half an hour. Check the veggies to make sure they're good and tender. If not, simmer 10-15 minutes more.
Take the milk mixture that you set aside earlier and pour it through a big strainer into the soup pot (the solids should not go in the pot, just the flavored milk - put the solids in your compost :-). Taste for salt and pepper and serve!
This soup gets better and better each time it's reheated. Just avoid boiling it hard or the milk may curdle. If this happens, pour in a tablespoon or two of cream and it will repair itself.
Enjoy!
Laura
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Yum! I can see this as a good one to do... even if I'd consider adding a ham hock or bacon bones or even gravy beef and substituting the milk for stock.... Or chicken thighs cut up and keeping the mikl. :)
Its still stinking hot and not yet afternoon but, as I'm eating a bowl of cereal for brunch (10:40am and just done school run so didn't have time for breakfast), I can appreciate this cold weather meal. :) If I wasn't cooled down by the cold milk... I'd be groaning at the thought of a hot meal I think. ;)
Did I add my chicken and vegetable broth/soup one here? Will have to check and post if not as its basically what we lived off over the winter and was unintentionally an extremely economical meal!
BB - Banksia.
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Chicken and vegetable broth/soup.
Now, hubby calls it a broth, but I feel its a soup as its "chunky" and I've always believed a broth is just the liquid, but could be wrong. :) I also believe I've included this recipe elsewhere on the group so apologies for a double up.
Here's the background to the recipe.
Basically, whenever you boil veggies, drain and retain the water they were boiled in. It freezes for up to 6 months.
You can also make your own chicken stock from the "frames" (carcasses) of any home made roast chooks you've got. Once you've picked it clean, bag it and freeze it to make later, or throw into a pot of water right away with your favourite veggies and herbs (carrot, celery, potato, bay leaves, etc) and boil. Let stand so you can spoon off the froth/ chicken fat and then strain so all you have is the liquid. Rest is composted too. Bones will be nice and soft so good to put in and shouldn't have any meat left to attract vermin.
Or, like me 80% of the time, use a store bought chicken stock. I use massels as it ticks all the right karma boxes for me. :D
The soup:
Fill a large stock pot with equal portions of the vegetable stock and chicken stock and bring to boil. Add diced up vegetables, I tend to go for carrot, corn kernels, zuchini, peas, etc...
When back at the boil, stirring occasionally, and add raw chopped up chicken thighs. I find these work better than breasts (but they're still good) as the darker meat of the thigh has more flavour and goes well in a soup. Don't stress over adding it raw as the soup boils it until cooked.
Bring to boil again, still stirring occasionally, and add lemon pepper, fresh parsley, cracked black pepper and salt (probably won't need salt due to the stock, but if it does go for it). Also add a couple of handfuls of soup pasta.
Allow to simmer a further 10 minutes of so until the soup pasta is cooked and serve.
This usually lasts us a week and starts as a clear soup and finishes all cloudy as the vegetables break down in the reheating. The kids even eat it.... if you drain most of the soup off. :)
BB - Banksia.
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