If anybody was to ask me what the single most important thing in my life was, the answer would be food. I have cooked for as long as I can remember.
A good friend of mine (a chef from Steamboat Springs, Colorado) opened a cooking portal on the web about 5 years ago. I was invited to become a moderator and spent 4 of the happiest years of my life indulging my passion. The site was sold on about a year ago, but my memories, and the friends I made remain.

As we are in the grip of winter, here is the recipe for one of my favourite soups. Quick, simple and economical (great for all the struggling students out there)

Anybody else got a reccipe to share?



Shambles bell pepper and carrot soup

1 Yellow onion, chopped
1 pound of peeled and chopped carrots.
One red bell pepper, finely chopped.
One and a half pints of chicken stock.*
One clove of garlic finely chopped.
Half teaspoon of ground coriander.
Half teaspoon of ground cumin.
It is one clove garlic finely chopped.
Half an inch off ginger peeled and finely chopped.
A pinch of cayenne pepper to taste.
A tablespoon of parsley finely chopped.
1 tablespoon of olive oil.

* Vegetarians could use vegetable stock

Method.

Add oil to a medium sized pan, when hot; add the onions, bell pepper, garlic, and ginger. Cook until the vegetables are soft. Add the coriander, cayenne pepper and cumin, stir in for one minute.
Now add the carrots and the chicken stock bring to a boil and simmer for 25 minutes. When the carrots are soft, blend with a stick blender. Taste and adjust the seasoning sprinkled in the parsley and serve.
You may also add cream at this stage.

I made soup last week It consisted of a load of vegetables thrown in a pan with some stock. I put some beetroot in and it was a nice pink colour

Thanks for sharing

Home-made tomato sauce. For use on pasta (pref wholemeal), or on other things.

Serves 2 - multiply up as necessary for your family.

1 medium onion
1 or 2 cloves of garlic to taste
1 tin of chopped tomatoes (or plain plum ones, either is OK)
1 stock cube, I use Kallo organic veg ones.
Fresh basil
2tsps oil - olive, sunflower or rapeseed


Chop the onion and lightly fry in the oil. Add in the garlic which you've peeled and either finely shopped, or put through a garlic press. Don't let the onion mixture brown though.
Add the tinned tomatoes (chop if necessary) and the stock cube, crumbled a bit.
Leave to simmer for about 10 mins stirring from time to time. The tomatoes should break down nicely, but not completely.
Before serving, stir in some fresh basil leaves to taste.

This can be prepared a day ahead and then the flavours mix beautifully! If you're using it this way, only add in the basil at the last minute after re-heating.

Enjoy!

Good morning Babybird

You are welcome

Isn’t soup wonderful at this time of year, and its funny how it tastes so much better if it is made a day in advance. It just gives it time to mellow.

And it's great because I always make too much and then freeze it down for next week

Me too! There's often enough for tomorrow's lunch.

elisabeth

I love Pasta; your recipe would also be good for a base layer for pizza. Getting hungry now. Lol. Good point about the Basil unlike say Rosemary and Thyme
The Basin flavour can get lost if it is cooked for to long.

Thanks David (and others) - that looks really good and I shall try it when I have a red pepper.

I'm always making soup for lunch - usually from last night's leftovers! the end of a casserole padded out with some more stock and veg makes a great soup - usually.

The great thing about home made soups compared to shop bought ones is I don't think I've ever had 2 that taste the same yet, which is great - always good and always a surprise.

Good morning Maggie

It works well without the pepper. The other thing to think about is how much stock you use, less stock thicker soup. Just a Personal thing

Thanks for that Bell Pepper and Carrot Soup. I will try it !
I make a fresh soup every Saturday for lunch. Last Saturday it was watercress and petit pois, garnishesd with fresh mint.

But here is our favourite;-

Butternut Squash, Orange and Ginger (for 4)

Take a good sized (~1 kilo) butternut squash, peel and de seed it. Also finely chop up a medium onion.

Saute the chopped onion with a crushed garlic clove (or 2!) in the bottom of a large saucepan for five mins or so, and add the squash, half a teaspoon of ground ginger, and saute for another five mins . Add 100ml fresh orange juice and 500ml stock (I just make it with 3 veg Oxo cubes). Bring to boil and simmer for about 30 mins until the squash is soft. Whizz it in a blender (maybe 2 batches required) , return to pan and add 3 tablespoons single cream(could be omitted on health gorunds). Reheat, season with salt and pepper if needed, and serve.
Depending on the size of the squash and whether you like your soup extra thick or thin, you can adjust with a little more water, or thicken a little with a heaped teaspoon of corn flour mixed with a little water.

I guess its really quite similar to the bell pepper one, but uses the Butternut instead.

Hmm, we got into that habit a while ago chez Pushpull but have reverted to the dreaded packets (strictly Knoor though). We used to trawl through the knocked down veg in Waitrose and make soup out of whatever was in that day.

Sounds really nice, I do like butternut squash




Spot on Digby

“There is nothing like soup. It is by nature eccentric: no two are ever alike, unless of course you get your soup in a can.”
Laurie Colwin, 'Home Cooking' (1988)

Could be, but one would need to make sure the suace wasn't too watery.

Oh, and a small red chilli can be added at the onion/garlic point and basil omitted, (perhaps replaced with coriander), for a chilli tomato sauce. I use this recipe a lot and it's very nice, despite the simplicity.

Another winter warmer we like

Shambles Lamb Shanks

For Lamb Shanks, with fat removed, dusted in seasoned flour and seared in a hot skillet.
One onion finely diced.
One cannot finely diced.
One stick of celery finely diced.
Chopped mushrooms.
Three cloves of garlic crushed.
2 tablespoons of concentrated tomato purée.
One bunch off Rosemary finely chopped.
One bunch of thyme finely chopped.
Two bay leaves
Salt and pepper to taste.
One fresh lemon squeezed.
One couple of red wine [cabernet Shiraz].
Quarter of a teaspoon of all spice.
Quarter of teaspoon of cinnamon.
Enough chicken stock to cover the Lamb Shanks

Method

Once the Lamb Shanks have been removed from the skillet, fry off the onions, celery, carrots, and garlic until soft and the diced mushrooms cook for a further two minutes and then add the concentrated tomato purée. Mix and cook together for three or four minutes.
Add the red wine, and reduce by half .
Place the Lamb Shanks in a heavy duty saucepan pour in the vegetables, , and the chicken stock to cover the Lamb Shanks. Add the herbs, bay leaf and lemon juice. Bring to a very low simmer (Surface should be hardly moving) with the lid on for 3 to 4 hours. Alternately, you could use a slow cooker. We like to plonk it on the top of the wood burner in the winter.
Remove the lid, season and taste. If the gravy is not thick enough, we reduce until it has reached the required constituency.

Chicken Fricassée Don't have the recipe so I went and looked for it...

Ingredients
4 chicken legs, cut into 2 or 4 pieces depending on size
50ml Olive oil
1 onion, sliced
1 bay leaf
1 sprig fresh Thyme
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tsp Flour
600ml dry white wine
1/2 stock cube
300g white rice
200ml double cream
150g olives, black and green
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped
pinch grated Nutmeg
salt and pepper

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4.

2. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Heat half the oil in a large, deep oven proof pan and colour the chicken on both sides. Remove the chicken and place in a bowl to keep warm.

3. Drizzle the rest of the oil into the pan and soften the onions gently without colouring them. Add the bay leaf, thyme and cumin and then replace the chicken. Sieve the flour over the chicken and let it cook through so that it absorbs completely.

4. Pour the wine in and crumble the stock cube into the mixture. Add the rice and bring to the boil.

5. Once at boiling point, put a lid on the pan and cook in the oven for 45 minutes.

6. Remove from the oven and place on a low heat on the hob. Stir in the double cream, olives, parsley and nutmeg and heat through before serving.

Absolutely divine!!

Back to the homemade soups - I like celeriac and parmesan soup - padded out with an assortment of other root veg and bacon or ham - a meal in a bowl.

Yum yum...

Sounds good
served with crusty home mad bread no doubt


Now that does sound good Stephie
I have just eaten a bowl of soup and now I have read your recipe I feel a need for chicken