Saturday, December 20, 2008

Of broths and soups....

Worries go down better with soup ~ Jewish Proverb

During the Summer/Fall season I save the bits and pieces when cleaning veggies, store them in the freezer in plastic freezer bags. Now why in the world you might ask would I save scraps ? For vegetable broth of course. Five cups of water and assorted veggies produces a flavorful broth to be used later in soups or stews. I guarantee you will never used a salty-broth from a can again!

Chopped up celery (with leaves), chopped carrots, the leaves from brussel sprouts, tops of red peppers, roughly chopped and parsley. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat and simmer till vegetables are tender. At this point most people strain out the vegetalbes from the broth, me I puree it all up to create broth packed with flavor. Let cool and pack in freezer containers for winter soups.

It is 25 degrees here in the City by the Blue Lake, and my pantry is full of root vegetables.

Potato Soup

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. butter
1 onion, chopped
4 large potatoes, peeled and diced
Parsley
1 stalk celery with leaves, sliced
2 carrots, chopped
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1 tsp. Paprika
2 cups vegetable broth

In a large heavy pot over medium low heat, sautee onion in butter. Add celery, carrots and potatoes and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients, cover and cook till tender. At this point you can puree the vegetables or not, whichever you prefer.

Combine 4 cups milk, 2 Tbsp. butter and salt and pepper to taste. Stir and cook in saucepan for a few minutes till thickened. Add to potatoe mixture, stir well.

Serve with crusty bread, a good book, comfy chair and a warm lap quilt.

16 comments:

******* said...

It's a great idea to save veggie scraps for soup! :)

shambo said...

That soup sure looks inviting. I'm sitting in an unheated room right now and I'd love to wrap my hands around a big mug of that delicious warmth. Your vegetable scrap idea is great.

Lucy said...

Great idea my friend, and a great soup!!!

OhioMom said...

Maryann

"waste not want not" :)

Sue

The best part of this is the broth is so full of flavor I only added 1/2 tsp. of salt to the pot of soup, frankly I think you can eliminate the salt completely :)

Lucy

Thank you my friend :)

giz said...

Your opening proverb rates a "Double Oy". The soup - what a great way to make something out of not much.

Grace said...

kudos to you for not letting the little scraps go to waste! and what a tremendous use for them, especially for a rich and creamy tater soup. lovely. :)

Fran Z said...

I'm sure this is so flavorful! Why don't I do that!??

Jen said...

Thank you so much for posting this! I always prefer using vegetable broth over animal-derived broth, and you sure do make it look easy to make my own!

OhioMom said...

Giz

That is the point :), we can make a healthy and delicious meal without putting out a lot of expense.

Grace .. the broth IMO makes the soup :)

Franz

Unfortunately because we have become a "diposable society" ... reuse, recycle, repurpose :)

Jen

I guarantee it is just that easy, try it :)

Darius T. Williams said...

There's nothing like a really good soup - looks amazing!

-DTW
www.everydaycookin.blogspot.com

Theresa said...

What a great idea for saving the scraps. Soup looks very heart warming!!

OhioMom said...

Thanks Darius :)

Oh yeah Theresa, you know I am gonna save what I can :)

Proud Italian Cook said...

I wish I had a bowl of this flavorful soup right now. I can't eat another cookie!!

The Blonde Duck said...

I'm craving soup for lunch now!

OhioMom said...

LOL Marie, I don't even want to see another cookie till next Christmas :)

BD .. I do too :)

Kevin said...

I have been thinking more and more about soups lately. Good tip on storing extra bits of vegies for stocks and broths,