Tuesday 26 April 2016

Victory...or Vegetables

I'm late with this post because I got involved watching game 7 of the NHL playoffs last night. Yeah Blues. So. I guess Victory s not a topic with my theme of food, so I'll switch to vegetables.

It was a cold and rainy morning and I think soup is an appropriate topic, and to be correct, it has to be vegetable soup.

I'm not much of a soup person, other than my Mom's homemade potato soup. It's a favorite of mine, and one I make often. Her soup, and mine, were never real thick and creamy, not like some of the soups you might order in a restaurant.

When I buy broccoli or asparagus, I make a soup, just to use up the stalk and ends that might otherwise end up in the compost. I don't use a recipe, but wing it, using whatever I might have on hand.

To start, I chop 1/2 onion into small pieces, add them to the saucepan with some butter and some minced garlic. I use the garlic from a jar, that's minced and in oil (found in the produce section). While that is cooking, on a low heat, I chop up the green vegetable, the broccoli or the  asparagus, along with a potato, and maybe some carrot, if I have it on hand.

When all the veggies are cut, and the onions cooked to a transparent stage, add the veggies to the saucepan, with enough water to generously cover. Simmer until veggies are tender.

I add a cube or package of chicken bouillon, for the added flavor.

When the veggies are cooked, spoon some of the veggies and the broth into a blender. Leave some of the vegetables for some added texture. Blend until smooth, adding milk, or half and half, to the blender and mix well. Return to the saucepan, mix with remaining vegetables and keep warm until served.

I haven't given any amounts because this is a play-it-by-ear kind of cooking. It all depends on how much vegetable you start with. You can add more of the bouillon and more milk or cream to make a larger quantity. Blending it in the blender makes for a thicker soup, so be careful how much of the liquid you add.

I hope you can make some sense of this. It makes for a tasty soup on a cold and damp night.

It's no ham and pea soup, that's what my sister-in-law makes, and kindly sends me a few jars when I meet my brother for lunch. I've asked for the recipe NUMEROUS times, and she still hasn't shared it with me.

Funny, (old joke) but my mother taught me sharing, just saying.

1 comment:

Susan Kane said...

Soups should be made "on the wing", according to my mother. Her soups were always marvelous.