VEGETABLE SOUP

Good Morning to you,

I love carrots.

I love sweet potato

I love ordinary potatoes

I love, love, love, parsnips

So it will come as no surprise, when I tell you, that I just love vegetable soup. I have checked my vegetable rack and yes, I have all the right vegetables, ready and waiting,  to be turned into,

vegetable soup..... with the added bonus of some large cheesy croutons to dunk into the soup.

Some days, I find that I do not eat as many vegetables as I should, you know how some days are, you plan to make a meal, but something happens, which upsets those plans.  So on days when I feel I need to increase my intake of vegetables, I make this vegetable soup. 

So I am popping on my apron, and I just know, you are going to love the music I am listening to today.

The Mamas and The Papas.  You cannot fail to think of sunny days when you listen to "California Dreamin" and who doesn't love "It's Getting Better".  If I feel a little low, I play this cd and my spirits are immediately lifted.  This is fabulous music from my teenage years, which I still enjoy today. 

Living in Cyprus, as a teenager, the summers were very hot, so during those long, hot summer months, we would enjoy hours of fun, swimming and sunbathing at the beach. At the time, my best friend was Maria, and she owned a transistor radio, which we all thought was fabulous, and each time we went to the beach, Maria would bring along her transistor. We would carefully lay out our beach towels, so that no sand was able to get onto the towel, then carefully place ourselves on the towel, again trying to stop any sand from getting on the towel, and when we finally lay down, we would close our eyes and listen to the music. You could always guarantee that The Mamas and The Papas would be played, along with The Byrd's and The Lovin' Spoonful.

Now that The Mamas and The Papas are singing, it is putting me in a really light hearted mood... and oh yes, I am singing along..... can't you hear me. 

So without further ado, it is time to get on with the vegetable soup.

INGREDIENTS

1 medium sized onion

3 large carrots

5 medium sized potatoes

I used a mixture of new potatoes and old potatoes

2 medium sized sweet potatoes

2 large parsnips

(large, because I love them)

1 250g tin of plum tomatoes

PLUS

1 teaspoon salt 

1/2 a tablespoon of chilli flakes 

1 litre of homemade stock or 
Marigold Swiss Vegetable bouillon stock

METHOD

Place 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan

and

finely chop the onion 

add to the pan. 

Saute over a low heat until the onions are translucent

While the onions are sauteing 

Peel the sweet potato

and

carrots

then cut into chunks.

When the onions are translucent,

add  the carrot and sweet potato to the pan, and

turn to coat with olive oil

Peel and chop the parsnips into chunks

and add the the pan, 

again mix to coat with olive oil

Peel and chop the potatoes and

add them to the pan.

Again  toss to coat with olive oil
(you might find that you need to add

 a 3rd tablespoon of  olive oil)

Add the tomatoes,

do not worry about chopping them, as

the cooking process will break them down

Add half a tablespoon of chilli flakes

(less if you prefer a milder flavour)

Add a teaspoon of sea salt

Using 2 tablespoonfuls of  Marigold Swiss Vegetable
bouillon powder

(or homemade stock if you have some at the ready)

Mix the Marigold Bouillon with a litre of hot water

and stir to make sure the powder has dissolved.

Add to the pan and stir.

Place a lid on the pan and bring to a simmer.

Check the soup after half an hour and if you feel you 

need a little more liquid, then add a little more.

Simmer for 45 minutes or until all the vegetables are tender. 

Remember to taste for seasoning,

please be careful as the soup will be hot,

and you will have a richly flavoured vegetable soup,

which costs very little to make.

Now you have a couple of alternatives, you can serve the vegetable soup and leave the vegetables as they are, which is how George likes his soup, or you can,

blitz the soup so that it is nice and smooth, which is how I prefer my vegetable soup.  

You could also blitz half of the soup, then add it back to the vegetable soup in the pan and stir. This makes for a thicker soup, and you still have chunky vegetables to enjoy.

I tend to serve this soup with garlic and cheese croutons. You can make your own large garlic and cheese croutons as I have, or you can make the smaller garlic and oregano croutons, as we made here.

You can make this vegetable soup using your favourite vegetables and believe me when I say, it is a much cheaper and a much healthier way to enjoy soup.

Whatever vegetables you decide to use..... ENJOY.

So take care and I will see you later in the week.

This week I will be joining,

Yvonne at StoneGable

and

Karen at Sew Many Ways