joepwro@ihopa.UUCP (Joe Wroblewski) (01/12/84)
I am looking for some good vegetable soup recipes. In return, I have a great
minestrone recipe. Please respond with mail.
It's been real
Joe P. Wroariels@orca.UUCP (Ariel Shattan) (01/13/84)
This is how I make soup:
Toss into a big pot, while pot is on stove, burner on medium --
stir after each addition:
1 or 2 cans of tomatoes with juice (home canned best, store cans
will do, you might want to cut up the tomatoes)
1/2 cup of at least 2 grains:
barley (if you use too much of this, the soup will get gummy)
lentils
split peas
small pasta things (elboes, minestrones, shells, etc. -- these will
get very soft, but they shouldn't lose their
shape or fall apart.)
lima beans
soy beans
basically any other kind of bean.
(if you toss in cooked grains, like leftover rice, it will fall
apart, but the soup takes less time to cook)
cut up vegetables (any or all of following and then some):
cabbage
bok choy
celery
carrots (skin 'em)
mushrooms
green peppers
zuchinni
okra (slightly slimy)
spinach
chard
cauliflower
broccoli
brussles sprouts
onions (oodles of these! I like to leave them whole if they're
small)
parsely (fresh or dried)
chives (fresh or dried)
spices (all to taste):
garlic (powdered or crushed fresh)
pepper (fresh ground)
salt (if you really must -- I don't)
bay leaf (2 large or 3 small, crumpled)
basil (~1 1/2 teasp)
oregano |_____ pick one, their flavors conflict (~1 1/2 teasp)
taragon |
cumin (powdered or crush the seeds first, will give the soup a
Mexican flavor)
tabasco sauce (a few shakes -- will give the soup a creole flavor)
red or rose wine (generous splash -- will give italian flavor)
add water to fill the pot (if you put in enough veggies, you
shouldn't need much water. be sure to leave about 1 1/2 to 2
inches at top of pot to avoid boil over.)
bring to boil with lid off (it's probably boiling by now, anyway).
turn burner down to low. simmer soup covered 'til grains are soft and
flavors blended. stir about once every 10 minutes. if grains start
sticking to the bottom of the pot, turn the heat down. if the soup
doesn't seem to be doing anything, turn the heat up a tad. I have
been known to put the pot on a back burner and leave the house for a
few hours. make sure the heat is not too high or low before you do
this (better too low than too high -- you can always turn it up whan
you get home to complete cooking, but if you've burned all the grain
to the bottom of the pot, YUCH! and it's a real mess to clean up,
too.) If you do it right, you can come home to a house that smells
like your grandmother has been cooking all day just for you.
I know that this is very imprecise, but that's the way I cook. I've
never had any complaints.
Next article: Chicken soup like my Mama taught me.
Ariel (cooking's an art, not a science) Shattan
..!decvax!tektronix!orca!ariels