End of the Fortnight Soup!!

For me, cooking is all about sharing.  It is not much fun to cook just for yourself  as most of those who live alone will tell you.

Veggies ready for the pot

While I always find joy in cooking, knowing I am going to share it with those people I love gives me more satisfaction.  Even if I get frustrated and end up with an enormous mess in my kitchen, more often than I care to remember,  I know I will be pleased when it is finished to present the end product to others.
 Today however, I decided I needed to write a grocery list which led me to the fridge, which led me to the realisation that it needed tidying up and cleaning out which is where the soup came. 

The end of the fortnight always leaves you with vegetables that are getting to the 'past their best moment' but as I was brought up to be thrifty and I hate waste in general, I usually find a use for them.  Today it was soup.  I love soup and one of the reasons I look forward to winter is knowing it is definately soup season.  The other is that I prefer the cold.  

Although the day dawned bright and sunshiny after a fairly cold , grey weekend, soup is one of those dishes I love making at any time.  It is just nicer when you know it is going to warm you up inside while outside is miserable. 


I just love a big variety of vegetables in my soup


In the freezer, which I also tidied, were 2 chicken carcasses that I had saved from roast dinners.  So along with my vegetables - the very necessary onion, celery, carrot and parsnip - went pumpkin, garlic, potato, turnip, broccoli stems that were also tossed into the freezer a while back to live another day in another dish, a little bit of capsicum and some sweet potato.



tie up the chicken carcasses well so no bones escape

My method of cooking soup, unless strictly following a soup recipe which isn't often despite my best intentions, is to chop all vegetables roughly, I don't peel potatoes, saute onion and garlic if using, toss the rest of the veg in, put on the lid, turn down the heat to just above low and let them cook for about 10 minutes.  Then the water, bay leaves and peppercorns - another two essential ingredients - are added plus whatever is being used for stock.  I almost always use at least some bacon bones, sometimes the chicken carcasses or wings, which my mum always favoured, occasionally if I think ahead or an am being extravagant, an actual whole chicken.

The first soup of the season was made with the ham bone left over from Christmas dinner.  I always look forward to this soup, it's almost as if you are putting some of the joy and warmth of Christmas and summer into your first winter soup.

before blitzing

Of course there wasn't a lot of summer warmth this year, with both Christmas and New Years weekends inundated with unprecedented rain in QLD.  However, it is usually a nice vision to have when putting the bone into that pot of water and vegetables, leaving it to simmer away so that the flavours can develop.  Yum!


As I'm not crazy about bits of inedibles in my soups, I wrap the chicken carcasses up in a piece of muslin. After the soup is cooked you can then place this into a bowl and when cool, squeeze gently so as not to miss any of the juices, untie the bag, throw out the bones and wash the muslin.  Occasionally I remember to put the bay leaves and peppercorns in as well.  Because I like my soups thick I usually blitz them with the hand blender once cooled.  Today I have added barley as  I Iove the nutty flavour and
thickness they provide, not forgetting they are so nutritious.

Pearl Barley

Not only is barley a great fibre source it also has phosphorous, selenium, manganese and copper.  It can help lower your cholesterol, increase the level of friendly bacteria in your gut and help reduce risk of Type 2 Diabetes.  Of course, one serve a year won't help with any of these so regular serves every week is the idea.


How do you like to cook your soup?

Although it looks like pumpkin there will be lots of other flavours