It's definitely sweater weather.
And that means it's also soup weather.
I'm not sure about you, but I could eat soup every day. Not only is it delicious, but it offers a bit of comfort on a chilly day.
My very favourite has always been canned chicken noodle soup, in all its bright yellowy salty goodness served with saltine crackers.
I have never really outgrown that, but for health reasons I started checking for some other choices.
I thought I would share the easiest and totally fail-proof soup recipe I have found.
I have never claimed to be a chef, but I’ve never killed anyone with my cooking. (Well, there was the unfortunate food poisoning incident of 2001, but let’s not focus on the negative.)
Let me say, first, I am no Julia Child in any sense. I might be more like the Hell’s Kitchen guy, Gordon Ramsay. There have definitely been a few bad words uttered in my kitchen.
But, when it comes to soup, I can hold my own. I am a very basic cook. If a recipe calls for anything more exotic than salt and pepper, I’m out.
So, let me say this is simply using things you likely already have in the cupboard. You really don’t need to measure.
Here’s what you will need:
Broth or bouillon (there’s 32 ounces in a box)
Onions chopped
Teaspoon of minced garlic (to your taste)
Aforementioned salt and pepper
Your vegetable of choice (chopped)
Put all of those ingredients in a skillet with the liquid and bring all to a boil
Reduce heat to simmer for 30 minutes with the lid on
Once it cools, transfer the liquid to a blender and blend away
That's it! Done!
I have successfully used this recipe for asparagus, cauliflower, potato, mushroom, celery, and carrot soups. All of them have turned out great.
I don’t make huge batches at once, but if you prefer, just adjust the amounts.
Once in bowls, you can add a little cheese, croutons or dry parsley to dress it up.
I try to keep the calories down a bit, so I don’t add milk or cream to the soup, but you definitely could.
You can also lower the salt content by using reduced sodium broth.
Since I am not the most confident cook, I always ask myself this question: “If you ordered this in a restaurant, would you think it was worth paying for?”
So far, the answer has always been “yes.”
To quote screenwriter Leslie Newman: “As the days grow short, some faces grow long. But,not mine. Every autumn, when the wind turns cold and darkness comes early, I am suddenly happy. It’s time to start making soup again.”
Enjoy!
