My Favourite Soup Recipes

From Thanksgiving crafts to recipe-sharing: am I over-compensating for my lack of needlecrafting skills this weekend? I think it's just that Thanksgiving makes me feel weirdly domestic.

Dixie's been sharing recipes lately, which is pleasing to me (seriously, we're going to make pies this weekend, and I think I can convince Chris to make Dixie's mom's French Apple Pie). She encouraged me to start sharing my favourite recipes as well. Maybe after I share this recipe I'll stop telling people endlessly about the soups we're making (you know, the soups that killed the old blender).

Chris and I make large quantities of cream of vegetable soup several times a month. It's not too difficult, it has way less salt than the canned garbage (I don't like canned soup, by the way), and it's fantastic as leftovers. We got the basic recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens binder cookbook, the essence of the recipe being this: boil some vegetables until they're pretty soft, and then run them through the blender with some broth (either the water you used to boil the vegetables, or you can use something like chicken broth, which is what I use when I do the broccoli soup); in the pot you cooked the vegetables, make a cups of white sauce (milk, butter/margarine, flour), letting it thicken after it boils, and then you add whatever seasoning you're going to add straight to the white sauce; add the puréed veggies back and simmer for an hour. We tend to add a few potatoes for some weight (I like my soup to be filling) and texture, and some onions for flavour.

Here are our favourite variations:

Broccoli with cheese soup:

• 1 tbsp. butter or margarine
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 c milk
• Lemon pepper (or lemon and herbs)
• a dash or two cayenne pepper
• a lot of garlic powder
• (other possible seasoning: a bit of crushed rosemary)
• 4 or 5 potatoes, peeled and chopped
• Half a medium onion, chopped
• A head of broccoli, chopped
• A couple of cans of chicken broth or vegetable stock

In a large pot, boil the potatoes and onions for a very long time, until it'll be easy to put them through the blender. At the same time, steam the broccoli (make it a little softer than if you'd be eating it, but be careful to keep the colour so the soup doesn't look weirdly beige). Put the potatoes, onions, and broccoli through either the blender or a food processor with the broth. I use a can of broth per blender-full.

In the pot, mix the margarine/butter with the flour. Then, slowly add the milk while stirring. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Add the seasonings, stirring thoroughly, and then add the pureed vegetables.

Stir thoroughly, and then let simmer over low heat for about an hour. Mix shredded cheddar cheese into each bowl. (I live off of this stuff when I have a cold.)

Dilled Carrot Soup

• White sauce as in the above recipe
• A pound and a half of sliced and cut carrots
• Three small potatoes, peeled and cut
• A cup of chopped onion
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 c. crushed dill
• a dash of salt and pepper each

Boil the vegetables until soft. Run them through the blender with the same water. Add the purée back to the white sauce and mix in garlic, salt and pepper, and dill. Simmer for an hour. This one is really frothy.

Best served with warm biscuits and an enjoyment of brightly colourful creamy soups.