Soup Of The Day

long time no soup!

2009-06-11T01:10:00.000+01:00

I haven't made any soup for ages!

I've got some good veg in the bottom of the fridge, so keep your eyes open for somethign a little mediterranean based coming up...

Bottom of the fridge soup day 2

2008-12-03T18:00:00.001Z

I said yesterday that it was a bit bitter and bland.

I added:

1 vegetable oxo cube

some garlic and parsley

a knob of butter

I dissolved the oxo cube in a pint of water and added some garlic flakes (a sprinkling) and some dried parsley (another sprinkling). I let this stand for 5 minutes or so to let them 'brew' together and then added them to the rest of the soup that I had bubbling on the hob.

It did the trick! The soup now has some depth and flavour and its a lot thinner and more soup-like than puree like.

Got to find out what's in vegetable oxo cubes that makes them so so necessary in my soup flavouring!

The 'What's in the Bottom of the Fridge' Soup

2008-12-02T19:20:00.001Z

I cleared out the veg drawers in my fridge today and made enough soup to last me the rest of the week!

It has:

2/3 Swede

2 small bunches of Pak Choi (I think...it could be chard...)

2 small carrots

2 small parsnips

1 med onion

couple of handfuls of Curly Kale

1 medium potato

All this veg was getting a bit past its best. So I souped it!

Cook the potato, swede, carrots and parsnips together with the onion.

When they're soft, turn off the heat and throw in the chard and the kale. leave it to wilt.

Add some salt and pepper to taste

Whizz in the blender with the water used for the cooking.

This soup is full of nutrients and vitamins. It has a mixture of colours in the veg and I reckon it goes some way towards your 5 a day.

At the moment, it tastes a bit bland. Its come out a fantastic grassy green colour with flecks of green in it. It needs sweetening somehow, so I'm going to cook some butternut squash tomorrow, puree that and mix it in. I'm not too keen on the idea of adding sugar to soup because sugar's sweet and soup is savoury...

Its a nice filling soup, but I think that it could do with a vegetable oxo to bring out the veg flavours. I'll add that tomorrow in about a pint of hot water to make it have more of a soup rather than a pureed vegetable texture.

A Warning

2008-11-25T14:53:00.001Z

Today, my friends I learnt a very important lesson, and it is on that I am going to share with you:

When making soup, and using a blender, try to make sure that the soup has cooled a bit...other wise it really really hurts when the lid comes off the blender and you end up showering in soup...

Yes, my dear readers, I managed to shower myself in hot soup this morning.

I made yesterday's soup again, and added a medium potato, a sprinkling of chilli flakes and a sprinkling of garlic flakes. I then blended it all together, little by little like normal.

The first spoonful blended beautifully. The second tried to lift the top off, so I put less in the third go. That one also tried to lift the lid off, so I decided that this was time to give up and have slightly lumpy soup (rustic I'd like to call it...). As I took the jug off of the blender (I use a smoothie type thing), the thing turned itself on and showered soup everywhere! It was really hot, so I've succeeded in scalding most of my right arm (including that really painful bit where your shoulder and armpit meet), and my left hand and wrist.

I put cold water on it and swore a lot, and now I'm at work where the air conditioning is constantly cool, and the burning is starting to go down. I still have soup in my hair...

So, dear readers, please take heed of my little incident and don't try to blend soup that is too hot, in case you have the same accident. Soup in the hair is not attractive.

Squash and Kale

2008-11-24T18:16:00.001Z

You might have noticed a few recipes involving squash...

if anyone has a way of cutting into squash that doesn't involve hitting it with a Chinese chopper on a tiled floor, please let me know! I've tried them all - the big meat knives, little veg knives, the bread knives and none of them work. I have resorted to sticking the chopper in it, and then banging the whole lot on the floor...I'm sure there's got to be a better way!

Anyway...on with the recipe:

1/4 Turks turban squash

good handful Curly Kale

Veg oxo cube

Salt and pepper to taste

Cut the squash into cubes and cook. For the last 5 minutes or so, throw in the oxo cube and the kale. let the kale wilt more than cook.

Put the veg into a blender and blend. It makes a great greeny colour soup - reminds me of the pea soup used in the Exorcist! Add water from the cooking as needed, and add salt and pepper to taste.

I think I'm going to give it a go again tomorrow using the last of the Turks turban (thankfully!) and some more kale, with some garlic and chilli to give it a flavoursome kick!

Pumpkin and Parsnip Day 2

2008-11-21T17:49:00.001Z

I didn't add marmite, I found some swede and onion in the freezer.

I added about 1/4 a swede and another onion and some more water.

Its a smoother soup now, but it has taken some of the spiciness and some of the flavour out of it.

Still quite tasty though!

Pumpkin and Parsnip

2008-11-20T17:55:00.001Z

I had the idea for this soup when I saw a Turks turban squash in my veg box.

So...technically, its Turks turban squash and parsnip, but pumpkin has a better ring to it...

1/4 large Turks turban squash

2 parsnips

1 veg oxo cube

1 medium onion

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

chilli and garlic flakes to taste

Cut the parsnip and the squash into cubes and boil. Cut the onion into pieces and add to the water. To make the soup quickly, add the oxo cube to the water too.

Also add the cumin seeds, and the chilli and garlic.

Add a small amount of salt, and a good sprinkling of black pepper (I prefer proper crushed pepper to ground pepper).

Boil together for about 20 minutes.

Add half the squash and parsnip to a blender with 2 soup ladles of the water.

Blend until smooth. add the other half of the mixture and some more water and blend again.

If you want a fairly thick soup, stop there, if you like it fairly thin, add more of the water and blend again. Repeat this until the soup is at the desired texture.

Its a nice spicy and sweet soup. The squash and the parsnip are both sweet vegetables.

I'm thinking of adding some marmite to it tomorrow to make it more savoury.

White Winter Warmer

2008-11-18T19:00:00.001Z

This is a great soup for winter. Its sweet, creamy, filling and has a velvety texture.

The recipe is based on the Potato and leek one, but with a couple of additives.

Good handful of new potatoes

1 large leek

good handful of mushrooms (you can use any mushrooms for this)

1/2 pt milk

spoonful of flour

spoonful of butter (I usually use dessert spoons to measure things)

2 mugs of chopped cooked chicken

1 veg oxo cube

1 knorr potato cube with garlic and parsley

salt and pepper to taste

Chop the potatoes into small cubes, leaving the skin on.

Chop the leek into small pieces.

chop the mushrooms into small pieces

chop the chicken into small cubes

Put the potatoes into a pan of boiling water and leave to soften. It should take about 10 minutes at the most. A couple of minutes before the cooking period has finished, throw in the leeks and mushrooms.

In a separate pan, melt the butter. Then add enough flour to make a thick paste with the melted butter. keep this mixture moving. Add the milk and keep stirring. When it is all incorporated, add the oxo cube to 1pt of boiling water and add to the sauce.

Strain the potatoes, leeks and mushrooms and add to the white sauce pan.

The chicken is optional. You can either add it now for a smooth soup, or add it later to keep the chunks.

Pour the soup into a blender and blend until smooth. You'll have some wonderful bits of skin from the potatoes giving it brown flecks.

Return soup to pan and allow to boil softly. if you are adding the chicken to keep it chunky, add the chunks now and warm through. Add the potato cube thingy, and add salt and pepper to taste.

Leave to simmer for a few minutes to completely incorporate all the flavours (I put mine straight into a flask for work).

Enjoy!

C-Hardly Healthy Seasoned

2008-02-27T18:16:00.000Z

So...my soups always last me at least 2 days.

Today i added a small knob of butter and some salt and pepper.

I can't believe i forgot to add black pepper! Its my favourite seasoning!

The butter has really smoothed the Chard out, its a bit like adding butter to spinach, it gave it a bit of a lift.

The salt and pepper has set off the flavours nicely, although i think i might have oversalted slightly. Oh well...maybe it'll go right next time!

C-Hardly Healthy

2008-02-26T14:39:00.001Z

It seems likea long time since i last posted a recipe - i got into sandwiches again!

Todays recipe was inspired by what was in the fridge!

1 onion

1/2 small curly cabbage (i'm sure they have real names, i just don't know what it is..)

Good handful Chard - really good handful!

1 carrot

1 clove Garlic

Small handful Parsley

Small knob butter

1pt veg stock

Boil together the cabbage, the onion and the carrot.

Emty out water and add veg stock, garlic, butter and parsley instead. Give it a good mix.

now add the chard and wilt it down.

Put the lot into a blender and blend - don't blend too much though, you want the chard to stay in good pieces.

Tadaa! Done!

I think that i might be nice to add some double cream to it (single cream splits when hot remember!) to make it a creamy soup. However, i don't have any double cream!

Swedely tasty

2008-01-09T17:53:00.001Z

This is a lovely warming, tasty thick soup

Ingredients:

1 large swede

11/2 yellow peppers

1 good handful tiny mushrooms (they were medium sized mushrom, but they were left in the fridge a bitt oo long and dried out...)

good grind black pepper

1pt veg stock

1/2 pt water

peel, dice and cook the swede. When it has sufficiently softened, throw the peppers and the mushrooms in for 10 mins to soften and cook.

Blend the swede and the peppers together with the mushrooms, add veg stock to help it all along. If its too thick, or the blender gets stuck, add 1/2 pt water.

Add black pepper and give it a good stir.

This comes out as s strange khaki coloured soup, it is nice and tasty and quite sweet from the swede. It has a great rooty, wintery taste and is best enjoyed really warm.

Again, if anyone's giving these recipes a go, let me know how you're getting on!

And remind me to put the recipe up for 'cheater's homemade soup' at some point. It was fairly tasty, but not as tasty as if i'd made the whole lot myself!

More Squashed Pepper

2007-12-21T18:40:00.001Z

I made a new batch today, but instead of one yellow and one green pepper, i used one yellow and one red pepper.

I also added some salt.

The salt has brought the flavours out nicely, and the red pepper gives it a nice rounded flavour. For a lovely mediteranean soup, i'd also recommend some nice italian herbs - some basil and oregano, and either some tomato paste, or some fresh tomatoes (maybe 2 medium sized ones).

Yum!

Additions

2007-12-18T18:27:00.000Z

After eating most of the squashed sweet pepper soup, have come to the conclusion that yes, it does need a little salt, and a little butter (the real stuff!!).

That would make a fab soup even better!

Squashed Sweet Pepper

2007-12-17T17:57:00.001Z

Todays recipe is for Squashed Sweet Pepper Soup

1/2 green squash (i'm not sure what the variety is - its a grass green colour medium sized pumpkin shaped squash. It has bright orange insides)

1 yellow pepper

1 green pepper

1pt veg stock

good gind black pepper.

Skin and dice the squash and cook until soft.

Slice peppers and add to the squash after its soft until the peppers are softened.

Strain out squash and peppers into a blender.

Slowly add the stock to blend until it is a thickish liquid consistency.

Grind black pepper in and blend a bit more to disperse it.

Simple and easy...and very very tasty!! Some people might wish to add a little salt, but not a lot!

Let me know if you try it and enjoy it (or not).

Tasty Fungi

2007-12-10T18:07:00.001Z

Today's soup is Tasty Fungi

Half a box of mushrooms (don't know how many...four good handfuls?)

1 veg oxo cube/1pt veg stock

small amount of butter

1clove garlic

handful of parsley

1pt water

2 medium onions

Cut the onions up, and quarter the mushrooms.

Boil them in the pt of water and leave to reduce to half.

Make up the veg stock, and add the garlic (chopped) and the parsley (chopped). Leave the garlic and the parsley in the stock to cook.

Put everything into a blender - start with all the onion/mushroom mixture and half the stock mixture. When they've blended, slowly add the rest of the stock mixture and keep blending til its all smooth.

It comes out as a thick, dark grey soup. its filling and tasty - it has a good mushroom taste with a hint of garlic..

Apologies for The Daily Soup not being update for the past few weeks, work have stopped all on-work internet usage (good thing that doesn't apply to email!), so i've not had the chance to update recently!

Day 9

2007-11-14T18:39:00.000Z

I think i've managed to turn round the disastrous soup.
I added:

1pt Veg stock
a piece of fresh ginger about the size of my thumb
a potato (not baking size, large normal potato size), cut into chunks and then boiled until it was really soft
some salt
some black pepper
and about a teaspoon of chilli powder.
1large, or 2 small garlic cloves, cut into small pieces

I think i might have overdone the spicing with chilli and ginger though... It is now a very warming winter soup. Much better than yesterday's tasteless offerings!

Day 8

2007-11-13T18:30:00.000Z

Disappointment!
I don't like today's soup. There's nothing to it, its pretty flavourless.

Here's the recipe:

Healthy Eyes, Healthy Body

6 large carrots
1 medium onion
1pt veg stock
Good handful of fresh basil.
1 large orange

Chop up carrots into chunks
Boil until soft enough to mash.
Chop onion into small pieces (i should have said dice...).
Turn off the heat under the carrots and put in onion. you want to soften it and avoid overcooking it.
Add roughly chopped herbs (remember: basil should always be torn!). and leave to wilt with carrots and onions.

Put carrots, onion and basil into blender and blend away til you get a thick, smooth puree. Then add veg stock and blend again to mix.
Add orange (peeled) and blend again.

I don't like this one. it hasn't come out at all good. I think i wanted it more carroty and more orangey, but its a bit watery and not very flavourful. Its also really sweet.
I think tomorrow i might try adding a few more vegetables, and a good amount of seasoning. I need something to take down the sweetness.
Any suggestions welcome!!

Day 7

2007-11-12T16:28:00.001Z

Today i'm finishing up Spuds leeked News.
For a milk-based soup, its lasted really well. I've been keeping it in the fridge in an ice cream tub.

We had roast chicken for dinner last night, so this morning, wheile i was warming the soup up, i chopped up one of the chicken breasts left, and added it to the soup. I then set the soup onto a rolling boil for a good five minutes to make sure that the chicken was well warmed through.

It should be delicious! I also added a bit of black pepper. I love freshly ground black pepper, and it complements the creaminess of the soup perfectly. yum Yum!

Should be new soup tomorrow! I bought a 5k bag of carrots yesterday, so i have a feeling that the soup may be heavily carrot based...

Day 6

2007-11-10T13:59:00.000Z

Spuds leeked News is still going.

Because its white sauce based, it sets in the fridge, so i just added a pint of hot veg stock to get it all moving, and then warmed it up. I love this soup, it is my favourite to make, and to eat. Its filling because it has bits in it - lumps of potato and mushroom, and its tasty. It also gets better if you leave it - the flavours really infuse together.

Delicious!

Day 5

2007-11-08T16:42:00.000Z

I forgot to update you all on the progress of The Exorcism of Smoky B!!

It was lovely, it did do as i suspected and mellowed nicely. It wasn't quite so good the second day after it was made - the meat had completely lost its smokiness, but it was very very tender.

So...New recipe today:

Spud's Leeked News

A medium saucepan of potato bits (i chopped up a load of tiny potatoes that i found at the bottom of the bin - leave the skins on!!)
1 Large Leek
6 Medium Mushrooms

Good dollop of butter
good sprinkle of plain flour
1pt milk
1pt veg stock

Cook the potatoes. Drain.
Chop the leek up, and the mushrooms. Add potatoes and leek to saucepan with a little olive oil in the bottom. Add mushrooms when the leek is soft.

Melt butter in another saucepan, and add flour to make a bread crumb consistency. Then add milk and whisk like made until its all smooth. Add veg stock to vegetables in saucepan and cook for 5 minutes. Add veg saucepan to sauce saucepan and mix well. it will look like its curding at first, but keep it on a low heat and mix well and it'll be good.

Season if preferred. i like a good grind of black pepper in it - but i do like black pepper!!

It hould come out as a smooth creamy soup with potato, leek and mushroom pieces. you can blend it all to make a really smooth soup with flavour, but personally, i prefer having the bits. It will be tasty!!

If there's anyone having a go at these recipes, please let me know how you get on too!!

Day 4

2007-11-05T17:56:00.000Z

Today i have a new soup recipe!

The Exorcism of Smoky B

3 Medium/Large carrots
2 medium parsnips
4 large spinach leaves
A good amount of Swede (i'm guessing about a small swede - i was cutting it off of a gigantic swede!!)
1pt Veg stock
1/2 pt full cream milk
Couple of good handfuls frozen peas
1/2 lb Smoked ham/bacon joint

Cut carrots, parsnips and swede into small chunks and boil for about half an hour, or until they're all soft.
Add spinach and peas
Leave to cook for another 10 mins

Drain veg and add to blender with stock and 1/2 milk. Blend like a maniac! It takes a bit of blending because of the root vegetables.

Cut ham/bacon into small cubes. I have a happy eater 1pt thermos flask that takes my soup every day, so i guaged the cube size on the opening for it.

Add ham/bacon to blended soup, swish out blender with remaining milk.

This soup is not overly thick, which is nice. usually, when i make soup, it ends up really thick, but i wanted something more runny, and i think the addition of the extra milk has really helped. The veg have gone nice and sweet with a definite overtone of swede. The bacon adds a nice salty edge to it and the smoked flavour comes through nicely. I'm going to update again tomorrow to add what it tastes like after the bacon has been in it for a night. I'm hoping that the sweetness of the veg has taken the edge off of the bacon, and the saltiness of the bacon has taken the edge off the sweetness of the veg.

I decided to give it that name because it is green...pea green! So, pea soup for the exorcism and smoky b for the bacon. Yummy!

Day Three

2007-11-01T20:05:00.000Z

I only had half a pint of Hey Fungi! left today, so i mixed it with half a pint of Covent Garden Wild Mushroom...I think this created the perfect soup. Its thick enough to be filling, and smooth, and runny enough to cme out of the cup properly. Absolutely wonderful! I have the Covent Garden Soup Company recipe book somewhere. I might have to work on a hybrid - Hey Wild Fungi!

Instead of a recipe tday, here's a link to The Covent Garden Soup Company:

www.newcoventgardenfood.com

Have a look, enjoy, salivate and cook!

Day Two

2007-10-31T18:59:00.000Z

Still on the Hey Fungi! Go Back To your Roots soup

The flavours have merged more today, there's more herb coming through. Still very nice...still very thick.

Today i have a recipe for the perfect bread to go with the Hey Fungi! soup:

Crusty White Bread

800g (1¾lb) Strong White Flour
450ml (¾ pint) Lukewarm Water
25g (1oz) Fresh Yeast
15g (½ oz) Lard
2 tsp Salt

Mix the flour and salt together, rub in the lard.
Dissolve the sugar in a little of the water and use to mix the yeast into a smooth thin paste, then add to the remaining water.
Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in the liquid. Mix together well and then knead for at least 5 minutes, until it becomes a smooth, elastic dough.
Shape into a ball and place in a warmed lightly greased bowl, cover and leave in a warm place for two hours to allow it to rise.
Turn out on to a floured surface and knock out all of the air.
Knead again until springy and smooth.
Reshape into a ball and place in a warmed lightly greased bowl, cover and leave in a warm place for an hour to allow it to rise again.
Divide the dough in half and place into two well-greased 2lb (900g) loaf tins.
Cover the tins and place in a warm place for 40 - 45 minutes to allow the dough to rise.
Preheat oven to 230°C: 450°F: Gas 8 and bake for 40-45 minutes.

From www.Foody.com

This thick, hearty soup really needs a good farmhouse crusty loaf to go with it.

Enjoy!

Day One

2007-10-30T13:18:00.000Z

Day One's a bit odd really, because its actually day two of my working week.
Ho Hum..

Today's soup is Hey! Fungi - Go Back To Your Roots!

Recipe:

6 small potatoes (not tiny new potato size, a bit bigger than that)
1 large carrot
1 medium parsip
1 medium leek (only up to the green bit - not using the tough upper leaves)
1 medium onion (white)
3 portobello mushroom (about 3" across)
1pt Veg Stock

Small handful fresh parsely
Small handful fresh sage
Small handful fresh basil
A good grind of black pepper
Tsp sea salt
Knob of butter

Cut the potatoes into small pieces, leaving the skins on and boil for about half an hour.
Cut the carrot and parsnip into equally small pieces and boil for 15 minutes
Shallow fry together the onion, mushrooms and leek, also cut into small pieces.

Turn off the heat to the frying pan and add the herbs, lightly chopped. We want to wilt them rather than cook them.

Add potatoes, carrot, parsnip and stock to a blender and whizz for a couple of minutes. At this point it should look and smell something like baby food! Add the mushroom mixture and whizz again so that its all incorporated. Then add the pepper, butter and salt. Mix thoroughly.

Drink and enjoy!

I found this soup to be easy to make, and really tasty. Its really thick, so some might want to add more veg stock to water it down. I like a good thick soup that can be eaten without bread and still provide a filling meal.