Soup Simmering on the Stove

The fixings for COLD DAY BEAN SOUP

I never started out being a good soup maker. Soup has never really been my 'go to' meal. Now I do enjoy a robust, full-flavoured soup, like homemade chicken noodle or corn chowder or potato and sauerkraut soup, but if we go out for a meal, it's not a first choice for me.

On the other hand, for Mr. Hubby -- the same man who votes pasta as his all-time number one favourite meal, yes, even over turkey dinner which he loves -- soup is often a 'go to' as he believes it makes a good meal choice any time, any season.

So I've learned to make soup over the years. Sometimes the melding of ingredients using what one has on hand, and aren't necessarily what's listed in the recipe in front of you, makes for a wonderful new discovery. And it's so delicious even I am saying 'more soup please'.  And some days we end up with something that's a little 'less than and not so much' in the over the top delicious.

I've learned over the years, you must not stint on the ingredients when making soup. Too much water and not enough vegetables makes for a thin gruel that feels flat, no matter how many pinches of salt and pepper and herbs you add later. And, for those of us who aren't vegetarian, it's the bones of a ham or chicken or beef that gives great body as well as the enriched flavour to a broth. Believe me, I know.....

“The soup, thin and dark and utterly savorless, tasted as if it had been drained out of the umbrella stand.” ~ Margaret Halsey (1910 - 1997), American author

Thankfully, hubby has never yet turned up his nose at any of my soup experiments. And I'm happy to report that with practice comes experience and with experience comes knowledge and with knowledge comes recipes that turn out delicious much more often than they used to.

Today I'm not relying on my own creative pinches and dashes of this and that. Both Mr. Hubby and I are looking forward to this next soup meal. It'll be a real treat -- I've gathered the ingredients to make Susan Branch's Bean Soup, which includes a smoked ham hock, celery, carrot, onion, bay leaf, peppercorns and white beans in a big pot of water that simmers away for hours.

Already the house is filled with yummy smells coming from the kitchen.

Good soup is one of the prime ingredients of good living. For soup can do more to lift the spirits and stimulate the appetite than any other one dish.” ~ Louis P. De Gouy, ‘The Soup Book’ (1949)

Wishing you happy smells *´¨)
> ¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*¨)
> (¸.·´ (¸.·´ * from your kitchen ! *

Hugs

Brenda

xox

Two Soup Quotes: FoodReference.com