Mabon 1999 Newsletter Recipes

Comforting Quick "Cream" Soups

These are my favorite after-work-no-time-to-cook winter dinners. Add a salad and a slice of bread and I'm happy. This is usually enough for myself. It's very easy to multiply it for more people. The proportions I use are usually 1 part potato to one part other vegetable. You can raise the proportion of vegetable to potato; the potato merely adds creaminess and mellows the flavour.

Place:
1 cubed potato and water (or stock) to cover into a saucepan

Bring to a boil, then simmer. Add ONE of the following combinations:

• 2 peeled stalks of broccoli (or one cup of florets) chopped, a bit of dried onion, and a vegetable bouillon cube, OR any of the following combinations:
• 2 carrots, chopped, and 1/4 teaspoon of curry powder,
• 1 cup of mushrooms and 1-3 tablespoons of your favourite wine
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped, and 1/4 teaspoon of tarragon, marjoram, or savory,
• 1 package of frozen spinach, a grating of nutmeg and a 1/4 teaspoon of lemon juice,
• 1 cup of frozen corn and 1 teaspoon of fresh parsley, OR
• 1 cup of frozen peas, 1/8 teaspoon each of ginger and cinnamon, a goodly amount of pepper, and 1-3 teaspoons of vinegar (interesting and tasty combination, based on a medieval recipe)
• 1 sweet potato or half an acorn squash, peeled and chopped, and 1/2 teaspoon of Italian herb mixture

Simmer the soup until the vegetables are tender. Puree in blender or food processor until smooth. Add salt/pepper to taste.

Notes
Instead of stock or vegetable bouillon cubes, you can take out 1/2 cup of soup after pureeing and dissolve a tablespoon of miso in it, then return it to the pot and mix.

Almost all of these combinations are good with the addition of 1/2 an onion and a clove or two of garlic sauteed in sherry.

Other possible additions (not combined, of course):

• a tablespoon of tomato paste
• 1/2 cup of leftover beans or grains
• a few dried mushrooms or dried tomatoes
• a few tablespoons of sauerkraut
• a tablespoon of capers or chopped pickle added before serving
• a tablespoon of yogurt swirled in right before serving (pretty!)
• toasted pumpkin/squash seeds or wheat germ sprinkled on top