Monday, July 15, 2013

soup is served

Making a delicious soup need not be difficult or time consuming. In my experience of making soups, I am most inspired by the ones that do not require a recipe, but rather meld together with whatever available ingredients I have at hand. Tamar Adler's book, An Everlasting Meal, gave me even more inspiration for the creating of tasty soups economically by using food parts that might be tossed into the garbage as waste (ie, cheese rinds, skins, peelings, or end parts). 

During the winter months I would take one morning a week, usually Thursdays, to make a soup with the leftover meat and vegetables sitting on my refrigerator's shelves. The comforting aroma of soup would be wafting throughout my house about the time that Charlotte's violin teacher would arrive for her lesson. Then the girls and I would either eat the soup for lunch or it would be our dinner that night when my husband came home.

Now that summer is here with the rich supply of local, fresh vegetables, I am making soups on a regular basis once more. Cream soups, which are wonderful when served cold, or a mish- mash of vegetables chopped, sauteed and left to simmer with homemade chicken stock to make a more stew-type and heartier soup.


I totally agree with her statement that one does not have to be a professional to cook well. This book is an enjoyable read, and who doesn't appreciate reading a good cookbook especially in the summer months? She gives a no nonsense approach to cooking and you even find several recipes thrown in here and there to try.

5 comments:

Karen @ Pieces of Contentment said...

Soups are wonderful, especially in winter. I've been making a different soup each day for lunch lately as my husband is on a special eczema diet (no wheat, no dairy, no sugar, few veggies etc) and loves to come home for a hot lunch.

In answer to your question...- they are scones and they are eaten with jam/honey/syrup and whipped cream. They can also be eaten with butter. There are many varieties of scones including savoury ones like pumpkin which are eaten with just butter. Scones are made with self raising flour and have no yeast -I guess they are traditionally English, and are very common here in Australia.

Karen said...

We are big fans of winter type soups, too. I do not make summer soups, but I should give it a try. We have a lot of veggie parts left over from all the vegetable meals we are consuming these days.

melissa said...

I've got that book and have never finished reading it....after this post, will get it out tonight. :) Thanks for the reminder.

The dB family said...

This sounds like a great read. I have to remember to start putting my veggie scraps in the freezer again instead of the compost. I find soups are one of those things that are very easy to make without a recipe -- unless I am looking for inspiration.

Blessings!
Deborah

Vi said...

I love soaps without a recipe too, a great way to get flavor from those items that would go to waste! When our tomatoes come in I want to try my hand at gazpacho.

I will have to check out that book. My lake read is going be Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist. Have you read it? I'll let you know how it is.

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