I had a 6 year old grandchild with me during the holidays and pondered on what would keep her amused for an hour or so while I worked in the kitchen. I was preparing soup for lunch and decided to make it a bit different so as to include her. I got a bowl of alphabet pasta and asked her to pick out all the letters in her name and told her we were going to make soup named after her! Homework for her - peace for me - she happily did that for about about 30 minutes! which allowed me to get on with the work at hand.
I have recently taken to making my own vegetable stock, it really makes a difference to the final flavour of any soup or casserole. It is simple and satisfying to make and doesn't have the artificial salty after taste the powdered stuff has. Start your stock with any left over vegetable water, I used the water from cooking pumpkin for a cake. Place this water in a large pot, add any vegetables you have available - peeled and chopped. I use carrot, a bit of the very end of a leek (before the white starts - no waste in my house!), celery - including a bit of the leaves and a bit of parsley, how much really depends on what is in the chiller and the intensity and amount of the stock you need. It is best not to use brassicas as the flavour is a bit overpowering! Allow it all to boil for 30 minutes or so then add salt and pepper to taste. You can now leave the cooked vegetables in the water or (if using for another dish) strain and retain the stock. Leave to cool for a bit before attempting next step.
Next - get out your wonderful whizz stick and puree all the vegetables in the pot along with the stock - viola! - you now have the base for your chicken soup.
Add about a cup of shredded cooked chicken and your 'alphabets' lots of them is more fun - heat for about 10 minutes and serve with buttered hot Burgen toast or a crispy roll - divine, simple homemade and inexpensive and the grandchild loved it!
I have recently taken to making my own vegetable stock, it really makes a difference to the final flavour of any soup or casserole. It is simple and satisfying to make and doesn't have the artificial salty after taste the powdered stuff has. Start your stock with any left over vegetable water, I used the water from cooking pumpkin for a cake. Place this water in a large pot, add any vegetables you have available - peeled and chopped. I use carrot, a bit of the very end of a leek (before the white starts - no waste in my house!), celery - including a bit of the leaves and a bit of parsley, how much really depends on what is in the chiller and the intensity and amount of the stock you need. It is best not to use brassicas as the flavour is a bit overpowering! Allow it all to boil for 30 minutes or so then add salt and pepper to taste. You can now leave the cooked vegetables in the water or (if using for another dish) strain and retain the stock. Leave to cool for a bit before attempting next step.
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| Mini kitchen whizz and stick - really handy for any small amount of ingredients |
Add about a cup of shredded cooked chicken and your 'alphabets' lots of them is more fun - heat for about 10 minutes and serve with buttered hot Burgen toast or a crispy roll - divine, simple homemade and inexpensive and the grandchild loved it!
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