KiwiDeb’s “Use up those vegetables that you bought and never used” winter soupsteemCreated with Sketch.

in #recipes7 years ago (edited)

You don’t need a recipe to make vegetable soup. All you need is a system, some pantry or freezer staples and whatever veges are left over from your weekly shop, or your organic vege box delivery.

First of all, I went round my kitchen and dumped everything that could go into soup onto the kitchen table. For something green, I tottered out into the darkness and the rain and found some wild parsley.

In my next post, I’ll tell you what I actually used, so it will be an actual recipe. But today I’ll talk you through my system.

vege-soup-ingredients.jpg

The base

To make the tastiest soup, you want to start with a good stock. Homemade is best, but often that’s just not going to happen. If you do make stock, keep some in the freezer. What I had:

• In the freezer, I had a bag of organic chicken stock
• In the pantry, I had a bag of organic dehydrated beef stock
• If you don’t have anything, just start with water

Carby veges

To make the soup sustaining, you want some highish carb vegetables, usually root veges or squashes. If you eat grains or legumes, you could also use some of those (think pea and ham soup). Some options would be:

• Carrots
• Beetroot (I had one red, one golden)
• Pumpkin
• Butternut squash
• Swede (rutabaga) – Note: must be cooked very well or tastes nasty
• Parsnip
• Sweet potato / kumara
• Potatoes
• Legumes such as split peas or lentils
• Grains such as rice or barley, if you tolerate them, or pseudo grains like buckwheat or quinoa

Aromatics

Next category are your aromatics, for depth of flavour. These could be:

• Onions
• Leeks
• Garlic
• Ginger – the ginger in the photo is from a bag of peeled, frozen ginger that I keep in the freezer
• Fresh turmeric – that bag also has peeled, frozen turmeric
• Powdered or grated spices

Greens

You might also want some greens. They could be:

• Spinach / silverbeet / chard
• Kale
• Broccoli – a good way to use up the stalks if you only eat the tops usually
• Celery
• Herbs

Good fats

And lastly I like to add some good fats. This might be:

• Coconut milk
• Creamed coconut / coconut butter
• A handful of cashews or almonds
• A dollop of sour cream or thick yoghurt
• A bit of grated cheese

The method

If you’re going to use grains or legumes in your soup, plan ahead, and soak them for a few hours in warm water with a little apple cider vinegar added. This will make them easier to digest.

In your saucepan, sauté your chopped or grated aromatics in a little butter, ghee, olive oil, coconut oil or lard. For onions or leeks, cook for a few minutes till softened. But garlic, ginger or spices only need a few seconds, so you don’t burn them.

Add your stock or water, then add your high carb veges, chopped into cubes. If using grains or legumes, give them a good rinse and add them now. If you’re using hard greens like broccoli stalk, celery or kale, add them at this stage too. You can add a little salt at this stage too, but not too much. Simmer till everything is nearly soft.

veg-in-pan.jpg

Towards the end, add any soft greens like spinach or herbs, and continue simmering till completely soft.

If you’re adding coconut or nuts, add them now and turn off the heat. Let it sit for a few minutes for the coconut to melt or the nuts to soften. If you’re adding cheese or sour cream, add them later in each bowl or cup.

Now you’ve got a choice. If you like chunky soup, you’re ready to taste and season further if needed. But if you’re like me and like a creamy soup, take to it with your hand held blender wand, till it’s the consistency you like, before seasoning. If your base was water, you’ll probably need to season with a slightly heavier hand.

Ladle into mugs or bowls, top with sour cream or cheese, if desired, and serve. Good for a winter snack, for lunch with some toast, or for dinner with your protein of choice.

Thanks for reading

Photos by myself.

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Some of my previous RECIPES AND KITCHEN TIPS:

BREAKFASTS –
Choc Blackcurrant Smoothie
Feijoa Pear Smoothie
Cashew Porridge
Other Breakfast ideas
BREADS & BAKING -
Grain free, dairy free Pumpkin & Cashew Bread
Grain Free Banana Cashew muffins
Carrot Almond bread
Vegetable muffins
Grain free cheese muffins
Happy birthday to me! with birthday cake recipe…
Grain Free Apple Cashew Walnut Muffins
Carrot Cashew Blender Bread
Stove top grain free bread
Apple Walnut Coconut Flour muffins
SOUPS & DINNERS –
Warming winter soup
Paleo Cottage Pie
I judged the Steemit Culinary Challenge: Paleo
SNACKS & FINGER FOODS –
Healthy Chocolate & Fudge
Jerky with vegetables
Choco-mallow protein bars
Grain free Fruit & Nut bar
Finger food for a gathering
Real food ideas for snacks and road trips
FESTIVE –
Festive smoothies for Xmas morning ~
Orange Cranberry Xmas Breakfast Muffins ~
Crisp & crunchy Xmas cheese stars
Best ever (and easiest) Christmas cake
Xmas menu ideas
Planning your holiday eating to be a bit more balanced
Paleo Easter Buns (coconut-almond flours, gluten and starch free, lowish carb)
Even yummier Paleo Easter Buns
KITCHEN TIPS & MENUS –
Tip for storing ginger & tumeric ~
Equipment for the real food kitchen
For MORE RECIPES and my 15 step Whole Food cooking course, see my recipe website.

If you’re from New Zealand (Aotearoa) and are looking for other kiwis, see the list on this post. Let me know if you want to be added, or want to add your location.

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I must say soup is one of my least favourite meals, but this one looks pretty delicious. I never thought of adding yogurt, though I love adding it to pasta and some stews/curries.

I think the important thing with soup is getting the right texture. I love creamy textures, so like to blend mine. But that doesn't work for everybody. Some people might be all about the crunch so would want to add some croutons. If it's too hot for soup where you are, and I'm guessing it is, there are always cold soups for the summer.

Nope, I'm from South Africa, and it is winter here too.

The impression I've been getting from other South Africans is that even in winter it's not really soup weather. But I guess it depends which part.

I'm in the interior, where it can get icy, even though I don't feel the cold too much. (age mid forties, ahem)

Age late 50's, ahem, know exactly what you mean... I guess it's like NZ, only a small country but a huge difference in temperature between Auckland and Invercargill.

Perfect weather for a yummy home made soup

Lamb and vegetable soup!

WTH ?

Is there any Alcohol iN ANY of these ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????

LoL ; thinking of You , may your Wallet grow fatter :)

/ Hugz ;)

oh & Purple iS an inferior Colour 2 Blue ! ! !

Hey @crok. Been a while since we last "spoke". I have to say that although I'm used to your comments being a little obscure, this one is making me wonder if you meant to answer someone else's post, lol. I've never thought of putting alcohol in soups!

That is because you are into Sheep and NOT an AussieDownUndies . . .

LoL :)

/ Hugz ;)

. . . Love You ...

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Need this on a day like today!!!!

Yummy!! And awesome system you've got there @kiwideb 😊 Will definitely be using that one this winter...

Also, need to remember to buy a handheld whizz 😁

Well, you can pop them in the blender, but the handheld whizz is sooo much easier. When you get back from Raro (you might be back by now) you'll need some warming soups!

Yeah, we got back from Raro about a week ago now and we have bought lots of pumpkin soups but homemade soup sounds waay tastier! 😃

Will pop across and read the rest of your holiday posts soon.

Right...like your comment...do you blog on food?

@kiwideb is a definite food blogger, shes great! 😁

ok but you...what do you blog on...will check out @kiwideb post now

Me?? 🤔 hmm.. I would say abit of everything - mainly my life in general. I still havent quite found a niche topic yet so I just talk about everything! haha 😃

Check me out if you like!

sure doing that right now
do check my out too...just sent a new story

Sometimes if I don't have stock I'll use tomato paste for a base.

True, tomato paste or puree is another tasty base. @sift666 is nightshade sensitive so we don't use it, but it's an excellent pantry staple for everybody else.

I like how this is more of a protocol than an actual recipe. As someone who can be very lazy in terms of cooking, I very much appreciate this pragmatic approach of put whatever you have. There's a system in play, so whatever I put is still cohesive somewhat. I hope you're feeling better, my friend! :D

Yes, pragmatic - that's the exact right word. I'm a very pragmatic cook. I'll leave the fancy recipes to the people who do them so much better than me. I'm all about empowering people to just make the healthiest food they can manage at the time, in the simplest, lowest stress way.

HAHA! We're cut from the same cloth yet again, my friend :) My fiancee and I clash sometimes in terms of cooking because she's the idealist half of our coin. I'm the pragmatic one in terms of almost every aspect of life. Function more than form, I always say haha!

That's probably the TJ parts of our personalities ;-)

Now that you mention it, I guess it is! Haha!

Hi Deb I absolutely love soup in the winter! Now that we moved down to the coast we eat way less soup because it is not so cold here. I make a whole pot and then freeze little containers for my grandmother and father to eat for lunch. I will share my recipe at some point. Hope you are well!

Yes, please do share your recipe. Having a stock of soups in the freezer is so useful!

Great recipe! Thank you! And I'm so glad to find another healthy foodie on steemit :D Checked out some of your other recipes as well. Love your healthy approach to cooking. Following :)

Following you too now. Those ginger choc cookies look fab. How have we not found each other before in almost a year?

That's just what I was thinking lol!

great post you shared here...very healthy receipe good for those who wants go food and live healthy...
do you use tumeric as spice?

Sometimes I use dried turmeric as a spice. But since we can get fresh turmeric from our organic shop, I usually just keep that in the freezer and use that.

great option...keep it up ma'am
tumeric is a super herb...along with garlic in foods, its a good combo for healthy living

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