It’s supposed to rain (but won’t, because I dumped fertilizer on the citrus and left it there for the rain to water into the ground: I have arcane powers). Nice evening for something hot and comforting, like fresh homemade soup.
For the past week, I’ve had nothing to eat but soup and ice cream. I’m mighty tired of soup and ice cream. Especially soup that comes out of a package or a can. I’d like some real food, but doubt that would be a wise thing to consume just now. So, I decided to see what I have in the house that can be reduced to a soup-like form but still taste…well…real.
A survey of the premises revealed the following (yes, the cupboard’s a bit bare just now: I have $152 to last till the 13th; will need to buy gas and dog meat before then, and so am treading lightly in grocery store aisles):
From the pantry: yam, a few carrots, an onion, a box of Target’s finest gourmet chicken broth
From the backyard: an orange, some parsley, some thyme
I chopped up the onion and sautéed it in a little olive oil. While it was percolating away, I decided to sweeten the pot—literally—with some turbinado sugar, added to the cooking onion. Peeled the thyme leaves off their stems and put them into the pot after the onion was nearly done. Meanwhile I cleaned and cut up the yam and carrots, then squeezed the orange.
When the onion was nice and translucent, it was into the kettle with the yam, carrots, orange juice, and chicken broth. The parsley, I reserved until later. Testing this brew led to a couple of afterthoughts:
Added a capful of bourbon and a generous dash of tarragon (about 1/2 tsp?). The result was good and mellow.
And so, to simmer:
When the vegetables were tender all the way through, I puréed the whole mess in the blender. The result was so smooth there was no need to run it through a strainer.
Another few afterthoughts occurred. I added a small amount of vanilla—about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon—some fresh-ground nutmeg, and a dash of cumin.
With the parsley added for garnish, dinner was served. And it was not too poisonous at all. All things considered.
😉
Fabulous! I cook this kind of thing at least twice a week. You have given me some good ideas here.
By the way, do you have a stick blender? You can get one for about $10. Then you can puree the soup right in the pot. It eliminates some messy steps, including dealing with hot liquids. Also, you could add a can of pumpkin if you have one around (and many people do, gathering dust).
I’ll have to look for one of those.
Canned pumpkin: good idea. While I was browsing recipes yesterday afternoon, I came across a couple of delicious-looking squash soup recipes, which entailed peeling (!) a butternut squash. Pumpkin would substitute nicely.
Looks fabulous. You forgot the part about a wee dram of bourbon for the cook while the food is simmering, an essential part of the recipe 🙂
I love my stick blender, and it is an item that shows up regularly at yard sales and thrift stores, got mine for a buck and use it all the time. No more messy transfers to the blender. Thanks for nice recipe.
LOL! Now that we don’t have George Bush to keep my bowels in an uproar, I suspect it’s the wee drams that have been doing that. After a week off the sauce, I suddenly feel fine. So…it’s a lifetime ticket to ride on the wagon for moi! 😉
This looks delicious! Amazing what we can come up with when we can’t go to the grocery store and have to rely on what’s at hand.