Everyone can make soup.
A pot of soup can take 30 minutes, or it can take all day to make. Soup can simply be a tasty broth, a thick melange of meat and vegetables, or a mixture of your favourite vegetables and beans or barley or it can be a delicious corn or seafood chowder. (I will take this chance to remind you of the delicious smoked salmon chowder from The Sobo Cookbook that I mentioned in a previous article.)
I find making soup a relaxing time in the kitchen.
Soup is comfort food. We enjoy soup for lunch on the weekends, and soup for dinner during the week. I grow a garden in the summer, so in the fall there is always soup cooking from the riches of squash and tomatoes we inevitably grow.
The Soup Sisters Cookbook has a wealth of recipes for soup lovers. There is a wonderful Butternut Squash and Apple soup and a Thai Coconut Squash recipe that I highly recommend. I love squash and the combination of squash and coconut milk is fresh and delicious.
Our garden, like so many Okanagan gardens, grows an abundance tomatoes. I deliver boxes of tomatoes to our neighbour in the late summer as we cannot possibly keep up with them.
The Soup Sister’s Cookbook has a wonderful Roasted Heirloom Tomato Soup in it. Top that soup off with mini grilled cheese croutons and fresh Basil (also from the garden) and you’ve got another fresh healthy meal.
One of my favourite soups is from the Rebar Modern Food Cookbook. I always feel healthier after eating the Greek Red Lentil Soup with Lemon, Rosemary and Feta. I love lentils, I love lemon and I love Feta so needless to say this soup is one of my all-time favorites.
The combinations of ingredients for soup are endless, as are the toppings for soup. Grated parmesan, toasted croutons, fresh herbs, roasted pumpkin seeds, diced avocado, pico de gallo are just a few.
A current soup trend is Bone Broth.
According to researchers, bone broth has numerous health benefits. Bone Broth is said to work as an anti-inflammatory, it helps with digestion and promotes healthy skin, hair and nails. To read more on the health benefits of bone broth, check out Healing Bone Broth Recipes: Incredibly Flavorful Dishes that Nourish Your Body the Old-fashioned by Sharon Brown.
Soup is an edible story, as in Stone Soup, the folk tale by Marcia Brown about three hungry soldiers come to a town where all the food has been hidden.
They set out to make soup of water and stones and in the end all of the town enjoy a feast. Come to the library and take home one of the numerous soup cookbooks we have and enjoy a simmering pot of goodness this weekend with your family and friends.
Dianne Broadbent is an assistant community Librarian at the Summerland Branch and a soup chef.