Soup 101

I know this is too late to rescue Sarah, but I want to share a few tips for soup magic.

In your pantry, always have some cans of broth such as beef, chicken and vegetable broth. Also bouillon powder or cubes. I like Knorr chicken cubes (found around the Mexican food section) and powdered beef bouillon. I am never without granulated garlic, basil, cumin, hot chili powder, pepper and vinegar. I rarely add salt to my soups. Also I always have some kind of canned beans on hand, that's just me and my love affair with beans in every recipe and soup. (And I complain about the gas?)

Once you have a base broth going, anything can go in it. All herbs and vinegar go in at the beginning. Leftovers are heavenly because it is so fast, but throwing any fresh or frozen vegetable in and cooking it in the soup makes the flavors soak in.

Meat is always optional, precooked is best. I never cook meat in the soup because I don't care for the fat layer it makes. Try turkey sausage sometime, YUM.

Starches are fun and make it hardy. As I said before, any kind of beans are my all time favorite. Canned or precooked, it is the same, just as long as they are cooked and well rinsed before adding them in. I like day old baked potatoes which have been cooked to just tender (not mushy, although mushy is great for the thickening effect). Onions are a must and mushrooms (sauteed beforehand) are an extra treat. I always cook noodles in the soup, unless I am using leftover pasta. And I never put in uncooked rice, always cooked. A handful of cornmeal is fun although it may sink to the bottom.

Creamed soups are easy, just add hot milk (non-fat is as good as half and half) at the end with mushy potatoes or potato flakes. A little butter is very good, although I never add it or I will get used to the heavenly taste again and lose my control. A more time consuming but more reliable thickener is making a small pan of white sauce, to which you can also add cheddar cheese in vegetable soups, then slowly pour it hot and thick into the soup stock, stirring well while pouring. We have used canned refried beans (not in creamy soup) to thicken it as well, but it would be a little weird to explain this to guests. In fact we call soup we have added refried beans to "Bum Stew".

I sometimes add a can of Tomatoes to add color and a new flavor. Nothing comes close to my home canned tomatoes, even though I use store bought when I don't have any of my own. I always cut them up small before adding.

This took a while to write but it is fast and easy, especially if you have the basics on hand and after you get a bit of practice doing it. You don't need those high salt, expensive soup starters. Nothing like doing it yourself. Master status brings great honor to you, for soup is a favorite of everyone.