SOUP - the thread!

[Wifezilla]

Abi made me soup today. It had fried chicken breast in a curry/pumpkin base. It was AWESOME!!! She needs to come on over and post the recipe.

 

[sunsaver]

If you like bread with soup, i have the worlds easiest (no-knead) bread recipe. Its hardy with firm but soft texture and it's great for soups or tomato sandwiches. It's basic ciabatta italian bread, or sour dough.

about 3 or 4 cups flour (unbleached, all purpose or whole wheat bread flour)
about a tablespoon of salt
about a teaspoon of active dry yeast
enough cold tap water to make a dough

Stir the water in with a large spoon until it is like a thick pancake batter. it must be wet enough for you to be able to stir it. Let it sit 20 minutes and stir again for 2 minutes to break up lumps. Cover with foil or saran wrap. Let it sit at room temerature over night or for 12 to 18 hours. You can also store it in the fridge. When it's all bubbley and smells like beer, stir it down to break all bubbles. Pour into a greased bread pan that is dusted with corn meal. dust the top with cornmeal. Bake at 400F for 30-40 minutes with a pan of water on the bottom rack of the oven.

This recipe is brainless, and never fails to make awesome bread for pennies a loaf. I've got one percolating right now, and i'm going to bake it for lunch tomorrow.

 

[discoversimplicity]

I am the same way. Someone asked me for a soup recipe once and I just stared at them in confusion

The key to a good soup is starting with a good bone broth.
http://www.westonaprice.org/food-fe...2OiJicm90aHMiO2k6NTtzOjEwOiJib25lIGJyb3RoIjt9

Thanks for the link. I love homemade chicken broth but have never found a good recipe for beef broth or fish broth

 

[savingdogs]

These sound so yummy, I have to give them a try. I've never put Kale in my soups or really known how to use it, I'll have to try that.

My happiest vegetable to find in the fridge when I'm making soup is LEEKS, they make any soup good. I also recently started adding stinging nettles to soups and that is really amazingly good, sort of like spinach but with a better texture.

 

[sunsaver]

I dont think i have stinging nettles down here in Louisianna. I consider myself an expert on all local wild edibles, and have never found them here. Better check my fieldguide again. I love spinach and chard, and other spinach substitutes!

 

[savingdogs]

well don't be too sorry if you don't have them, they sting horribly if you accidentely brush against them.....you would KNOW if they are there!

 

[Farmfresh]

These sound so yummy, I have to give them a try. I've never put Kale in my soups or really known how to use it, I'll have to try that.

My happiest vegetable to find in the fridge when I'm making soup is LEEKS, they make any soup good. I also recently started adding stinging nettles to soups and that is really amazingly good, sort of like spinach but with a better texture.

I grow leeks in my garden each year with limited success, but there is a German immigrant couple that come to our Farmer's Market that have the most beautiful leeks you can imagine each year. I usually buy all they have and take them home to the dehydrator to insure I have some when I am ready to make a soup.

Leeks are a wonderful soup vegetable!!

 

[Farmfresh]

I am the same way. Someone asked me for a soup recipe once and I just stared at them in confusion

The key to a good soup is starting with a good bone broth.
http://www.westonaprice.org/food-fe...2OiJicm90aHMiO2k6NTtzOjEwOiJib25lIGJyb3RoIjt9

Thanks for the link. I love homemade chicken broth but have never found a good recipe for beef broth or fish broth

The secret to a good rich broth is good offally bits like bones, skin (even heads in the case of fish). You can make a MUCH better stock using (for example) chicken backs and necks, than you can using breast or thigh meat.

When we make a beef broth we start with water some good beef soup bones, some onions, celery, leeks and a few diced fine carrots. Then we add a glug of ACV and let it cook all day or all night in a crockpot. The meat should be off of the bones and the smaller bones should even be softening. I keep adding a bit of water throughout the day as well. Then we strain the broth and chill to remove excess fat (if you want to, but our beef soup bones have been real fatty this last time - from our "mal-nourished" grass only fed cow )

At this point we usually dice up the meat and add it back in as well as the stock vegetables which are smooshed mooshy by now.

If desired you can cook the stock down further to concentrate, but we usually don't. We freeze our stock in plastic bowls or bags in 2 cup portions and freeze any extra in an ice cube tray for use in spicing up recipes. After they are frozen when pop them out and bag them up to store in the freezer.

 

[sufficientforme]

Our favorite soup is clam chowder, this is a family favorite that I believe was clipped out of the Seattle Times to replicate Ivar's. This could be made GF also. I got this from Recipezaar many years ago.
Ingredients

* 2 (6 1/2 ounce) cans minced clams
* 1 cup finely chopped onion
* 1 cup finely diced celery
* 2 cups finely diced potatoes
* 3/4 cup butter or 3/4 cup margarine
* 3/4 cup flour
* 4 cups half-and-half, warmed
* 1 teaspoon salt, to taste
* 1 dash pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon sugar

Directions:

1. 1 In a medium saucepan, drain the juice from the clams; set the clams aside.
2. 2 Combine clam juice with the onions, celery and potatoes.
3. 3 Add enough water to barely cover and simmer, covered, over medium heat until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
4. 4 In a large saucepan, melt the butter.
5. 5 Add flour and stir in to the butter.
6. 6 Slowly whisk in the warm half-and-half.
7. 7 Cook and whisk until smooth and thick, about 5 minutes.
8. 8 If you want a thinner chowder, add 1/2 to 3/4 cup water or clam broth.
9. 9 Add the vegetables with their cooking liquid, clams, salt, pepper and sugar to the pan.
10. 10 Stir well and adjust the seasonings if necessary.



We LOVE albondigas soup also if you want proportions for your recipe, here is the one I use and it is excellent.
http://www.food.com/recipe/best-albondigas-soup-107281

Chicken tortilla soup is one the whole family will eat also.
This crockpot recipe is very convenient.
http://www.food.com/recipe/the-best-chicken-tortilla-soup-104086

Black bean soup is another!
http://www.food.com/recipe/tgi-fridays-black-bean-soup-102274

And of course chili other than those we don't eat a lot of soup in the desert because we like colder meals for most of the year

 

[savingdogs]

thanks for posting that, I need to learn to make and store my own stock.

the pumpkin curry soup sounds really good, I made one that was remotely like that once and would like to see what Abifae puts in.