Soup in the City

[daughter of pearl]

Cheapie's Soup

Into a samll pot, pour two tablespoons of oil, and sautee:

celery, chopped fine, including the greens ( I chop a section from the bunch about three inches long)
1 onion, chopped fine
1 sweet red pepper, chopped fine
tablespoon of dried parsley, pinch of salt

In crock pot or bigger pot, put:

sauteed mixture (above)
1 large unpeeled potatoe, cubed
1 medium unpeeled yam, cubed
1 can white beans, including liquid
1 litre of veggie stock from freezer.

Cook on low-ish heat till everything is mixed and the potatoes are soft.

This usually makes enough for about 10 servings.

[Palooka]

Sounds great! I'll get back later with some yummy frugal soups.

[mauimagic]

Mahalo - that sounds really great!!

[Nada.Leona]

Sounds good! Ever try it without the yam?

[Saule]

i love to make chicken broth in my crockpot - I just throw in the carcass of a roasted chicken with some veggies and water and let it cook overnight. It stays beautifully clear. I then freeze it.

I often just wing a soup on a weeknight. For example, I'll chop up a small potato, shred some carrot (with the veggie peeler is just fine), throw in a bay leaf and a pepper corn or two, and let it all simmer in broth - salt if using home made broth, too. Then, when the potatoes are tender, throw in some spinach and cook until wilted. A squeeze of lemon juice makes it perky.

Mother used to make a milk soup - she'd cook chopped potatoes or cauliflower, sliced carrots, maybe some zucchini or squash in water just to cover - or you can use broth. Then, when the veggies are tender, pour in enough milk to make a brothy soup. She also used a bayleaf. I sometimes use half broth, half water - that keeps it light, but gives a richer flavor then just using water. Mother would add a pat of butter, but I generally don't - it tastes so good like that, but you do have to watch those calories these days!

This morning I left soup in the fridge for my husband to warm up - I put broth, some shredded carrot, a couple of tablespoons of tiny pasta, a grating of pepper, some sliced mushroom and sliced scallion into the soup bowl, covered with broth, added a pinch of salt. The tiny pasta softens and cooks up just fine when he heats it in the mcrowave for 2 minutes.