The 21st Century Housewife's© Christmas Parsnip Soup

There is nothing like coming home from a hard day's Christmas shopping knowing that you have something lovely and warming for supper in the fridge. Parsnips are plentiful this time of year and combined with the nutmeg, they just taste of Christmas. This soup is so easy to make, and although it takes a bit of time, very little of that is labour intensive. It is wonderful served with crusty bread or rolls, or with your favourite sandwich. It travels well in a thermos too, if you want to take it along for lunch on the go!

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
6 – 7 medium parsnips, peeled and cut in fairly small chunks
1 litre chicken stock
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly ground if possible
125 to 250 ml milk or single cream
paprika or a swirl of cream for garnish

Heat the butter and oil in a saucepan. Add the onion and cook over low heat until softened. The longer you can cook the onion the more flavourful it will be, provided you keep the heat very low. If you have time, you can leave them cooking away for about fifteen or twenty minutes; if you are in a rush, just make sure that they are nicely softened.

Stir in the parsnips, making sure to coat them with the melted butter and oil. Turn the heat down as low as you can and put the lid on the saucepan. Set the timer for ten minutes and let the parsnips sweat in their buttery coating. You can peek, in fact I encourage you to, just to be sure they are not sticking. Turn the heat back a bit if they do start to stick a little. Let them sweat away in the pan, giving them the occasional stir.

After ten minutes, remove the lid and add the stock. Bring to the boil. Now turn back the heat. Stir in the nutmeg and simmer gently for about 20 to 30 minutes until the parsnips are very, very soft. Take the soup off the heat.

Cool for a few minutes so the liquid and parsnips are not scalding hot. When the soup has cooled a bit, puree it in the blender in batches. If I am going to serve it later, this is the point at which I allow the soup to cool right down and then refrigerate it as I prefer to add the milk or cream just before serving.

If you are serving the soup right away, however, wash out the pan and dry it, and put the soup back in. (If you made the soup earlier and you now want to serve it, remove it from the fridge and allow to sit at room temperature for about twenty minutes -so it isn't icy cold - before putting it in a pan on the stove. ) Place the pan over a low heat and begin to stir in the milk or cream. Now the amount of milk you add depends on the thickness of the liquidised parsnips and stock you have in your pan, and indeed whether you have chosen to use milk or cream (which is slightly thicker). Just take it slowly as there is nothing worse than thin soup. Remember, you can always add more milk or cream, but you can’t take it away! Heat until piping hot. Carefully taste the soup, adding a little bit more nutmeg if you feel it needs it.

Serve in bowls or mugs with a sprinkling of paprika or swirl of cream for garnish.

Emergency Chicken Noodle Soup

It’s that time of year again - the time when colds and flu strike and make folks feel really awful, just when they want to be enjoying themselves. The other day my son came home from college full of cold and feeling really terrible. All he wanted was a nice hot bowl of soup. The only problem was my favourite soup recipe takes rather a long time to make. I got to thinking that there had to be an easier and quicker way to a hot and comforting bowl of soup - and luckily, I was right. I just started with some chicken stock and went from there. Slicing the scallions thinly and grating the carrot means it all cooks up in no time.

Sadly that time I had no cooked chicken in the fridge, but the soup still tasted really good without it. I thought how it would be even better if you did happen to have some though and so the other day I had another go at making this easy recipe. It only takes about fifteen minutes, and can make you look like a domestic goddess any day! Actually, this would be a great way to use up some of the leftover Thanksgiving turkey. You could freeze small portions of turkey ready to defrost in the microwave - ready for any emergency that might be helped by a lovely, hot bowl of soup.

By the way, emergency soup for vegetarians is just as easy; simply replace the chicken stock with vegetable stock and leave out the chicken. It's still a lovely warm and comforting treat.

To make Emergency Soup for one person you need:

8 to 12 ounces of chicken stock (made from cubes or packaged is fine)
1 “nest” of Chinese egg noodles
3 or 4 scallions (spring onions), very thinly sliced
half of a carrot, peeled and grated
1/2 cooked chicken breast, shredded or finely chopped

Heat the stock on the stove over low to medium heat. Add the scallions and grated carrot. Put a lid on the pan and simmer for about ten minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to package directions. When they are ready, drain them and add to the vegetables and stock. Add the chicken (or turkey). Heat through and serve.

Instant comfort - whether you have a cold or not!!

Warming Autumn Soup

My weekly organic vegetable box was delivered to my doorstep this morning, and as I put away the beautiful treasures contained therein, I suddenly realised I still had some of the vegetables from last week’s box. We’ve been eating out a lot this week and I just didn’t get them used up. Most of them were still okay, but they were beginning to look a little wilted and sad. As we are out again this evening, I was at a bit of a loss about what to do with them, but I did not want to waste them. Then I had it – soup!

Soup is delicious, filling, economical and comforting. It is also just about the easiest way to use up extra vegetables that I know of. Potato and leek, carrot and coriander (cilantro), celery, parsnip – all of these are favourites in our house. However, one of the easiest soups to make is a mixed vegetable soup – and all you really need are the vegetables lurking on the bottom of your fridge plus some stock and a bit of milk or cream.

You really can use just about any vegetables in this soup, depending on what you have. I do like to include an onion (even if the soup involves leeks) as I think a good onion flavour is an asset to just about any soup. Purists might deride me , but I use stock concentrate, stock cubes or ready-made containers of stock, whatever I have to hand. Like most other people, I just do not have time to make stock from scratch these days. If you are making a vegetable soup for vegetarians obviously you need to use vegetable stock, but if not, I recommend chicken stock as it gives any soup just that little bit more flavour.

Seasonings are entirely up to you. Ready made stocks can be high in salt, so do check before you add any more. Pepper is a nice addition to any soup; just add it to taste. I often use oregano and thyme as it makes the vegetable flavours more intense. You could also use spice blends – like an Italian seasoning blend or herbes de Provence. It does not matter whether the herbs are fresh or dried, however you may find you need less if you use fresh, as their flavour is more intense. A bay leaf could be added if wanted to imbue your soup with a deeper flavour -. just remember to take it out before you puree!

If I am using carrots I like to grate them in because it helps them to cook more quickly. Potato can also be grated, but I tend to add it in small slices as it is quicker for me. I do like to include a potato, just to give the soup some extra body, but it is not vital. Other vegetables should be as finely chopped as possible, or use a food processor if that is easier for you. I don’t mind a bit of light chopping if I have the time, but if you do not feel as I do or you are rushed, then a food processor is definitely the best option.

This is the soup as I made it today. The vegetables are literally what I had to hand. Feel free to be creative – with homemade soup just about anything goes!

The 21st Century Housewife’s© Easy Vegetable Soup

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 white onion, finely chopped
3 leeks, washed and finely sliced
4 – 6 stalks of celery, washed and finely sliced
1 potato, peeled, halved and sliced in thin slices
4 -5 carrots, washed, peeled and grated
1 to 1-1/2 litres of stock
salt and pepper to taste
spices to taste (I like to use about a teaspoon each of oregano and thyme)
water, milk or cream (roughly 100 to 200 ml)

Heat the butter and olive oil together in a large saucepan. Add the onion and cook for two or three minutes, stirring occasionally, until it begins to soften. Add the remaining vegetables, and stir so they get coated with the buttery oil. Cook with a lid on over low heat for about twenty minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the stock, cover the pot and cook for another half hour over low heat, stirring occasionally. Add the seasonings and herbs, tasting as you go. (Be careful, the soup will be very hot.)

Remove from heat and take off the lid. Allow the soup to cool a bit so that it does not damage your liquidiser/blender. Puree the soup in batches to your desired thickness. I like to leave it a little bit chunky so it has some texture, but if you prefer your soup very smooth, puree it just that little bit more. It is entirely up to you.

If you are going to serve the soup immediately, put the batches of pureed soup directly into a clean saucepan. Add more water, milk or cream to get the soup to your desired thickness and re-heat over medium heat until it is piping hot.

If you are making the soup ahead, put the batches of pureed soup in a container. Cool completely, refrigerating as soon as possible. The soup will keep (without added milk or cream) in the fridge for up to three days. You can then reheat the soup all at once, or a bit at a time as you need it, adding water, milk or cream to get it to your desired thickness. Be sure to heat the soup until it is piping hot.

This soup is lovely served with the Maple Syrup, Pecan and Apple Loaf (made without the cinnamon sugar topping) in the previous entry. Served spread with butter alongside a steaming hot bowl of this comforting soup, it makes for a gorgeous Autumn lunch.