Slow Cooker - Soup

Mics_chick

Thanks Kathyd - I'll give it a go now... Let you know later how I got on!

Mics_chick

When I said I wasn't a confident cook I should have said I wasn't much of a cook at all...! OH usually does it all.

Anyway followed your recipe KathyD using following amounts...

2 small onions
4 medium potatoes

Large handful of each frozen veg:
sprouts
cauli
broccolli
baby carrots
carrot/swede mix (added extra handful of this as seemed heavy on green veg)

2 chicken oxo cubs
1 litre of water - enough to cover veg
Sprinkle black pepper
Large pinch of salt

Have I used enough potato & onion in relation to amount of veg?

Didn't want to overdo it on stock but for amount of water in pan should use 5 stock cubes but this seem excessive - is 2 ok or should I use more?

Enough seasoning - scared of going overboard and spoiling it (that is making it inedible!!)

Any advice gratefully received by have-a-go newbie!!

Psykicpup

You could taste it to see if it needs more oxo or seasoning etc...... then you get it how you like it

kathyd_2

Mics_chick wrote:

When I said I wasn't a confident cook I should have said I wasn't much of a cook at all...! OH usually does it all.

Anyway followed your recipe KathyD using following amounts...

2 small onions
4 medium potatoes

Large handful of each frozen veg:
sprouts
cauli
broccolli
baby carrots
carrot/swede mix (added extra handful of this as seemed heavy on green veg)

2 chicken oxo cubs
1 litre of water - enough to cover veg
Sprinkle black pepper
Large pinch of salt

Have I used enough potato & onion in relation to amount of veg?

Didn't want to overdo it on stock but for amount of water in pan should use 5 stock cubes but this seem excessive - is 2 ok or should I use more?

Enough seasoning - scared of going overboard and spoiling it (that is making it inedible!!)

Any advice gratefully received by have-a-go newbie!!

You're learning already Micschick :T Making soup isn't a science. Use what you think is right and if you go wrong.....well you can't really go wrong because soup is salvagable (sp?). If you decide the flavour isn't quite right you can always add another stock cube right at the very end. One invaluable tip, if your soup is too thin add some mashed potato - packet mash or leftover - just stir through, instant thickening. If it's too thick just add extra water and another cube if necessary. You'll get there. Let us know how it turns out.

Mics_chick

A bit of a disaster as far as OH concerned - he says it's tasteless - that is it tastes of nothing but cooked veg. Yes it is supposed to be veggie soup but isn't the chicken stock supposed to give it some sort of meaty flavour? I added another 2 stock cubes at the end and left it simmering a bit longer but it doesn't seem to have made much difference... Have I made a mistake in blitzing it with hand whisk? When I say large handful of veg I mean large - as in stick hand in and grab as much as you can hold - I think this was a bit TOO much! Is there any way I can save it? Add more potato to alter veggie balance? Add something else?

miggy

Hi, sorry to hear it didn't work out. For future reference, I once heard that the best veg soup sweats the veg in proper butter first. I think you can use butter & oil, but using some butter really adds to the taste.
I'm no expert but it works for me!
(Money saving version says get cheapest butter and store extra - ready chopped - in the freezer for when you 'really need' it.)
I borrowed a friend's veg soup recipe which she in turn got from Mary Berry so it may be on the Net somewhere - similar to yours except there is an orange and an apple in place of the green veg., and a little mild curry powder. It was very good. Why don't you add some curry powder and see?!
I think the Mary Berry recipe was for spiced autumnal soup or something very like that.
Not having tasted yours, I'm guessing, but alternative additions could be herbs, Worcester sauce, cream or yogurt. I haven't got your recipe in front of me any more so I may be way wrong!
I hope you manage to salvage it, it's depressing when it doesn't work out (got the t-shirt on that one!)

Mics_chick

Thanks miggy I will give the curry powder a try

kathyd_2

Morning Mics_chick - sorry to hear of your disaster. The secret to good soup is the stock. Try making your cubes up and tasting to see if the strength is ok before adding to your veg. You can also buy readymade fresh stock in supermarkets. I've never made soup with frozen veg so maybe why it tasted watery. Try with fresh veg next time. Its all a learning curve. You'll know what not to do next time. Blitzing it won't make any difference to the taste, just the texture of the soup.

Mics_chick

It wasn't such a disaster after all...

I put last 2 stock cubes in that I had and let it simmer a bit longer which didn't seem to have made much difference.
However after it had cooled down it had more of a meaty taste to me.
I was happy with it but I like veggies.
Other half not really a fan of veggies so he wasn't so happy with it!
So he cooked 1 chicken breast which he then chopped up really small and added to the soup so it had small bits of real chicken in it.
It really lifted it and I really enjoyed it.
So did my ds who loves stewy type tastes.
My dd wasn't so keen but got her to eat it with a bit of persuasion.

Will freeze the rest for another day if I don't eat it all first...!

Didn't need to do the curry powder this time but will try in future - veggie curry soup sound yummy!

kathyd_2

Mics_chick wrote:

It wasn't such a disaster after all...

I put last 2 stock cubes in that I had and let it simmer a bit longer which didn't seem to have made much difference.
However after it had cooled down it had more of a meaty taste to me.
I was happy with it but I like veggies.
Other half not really a fan of veggies so he wasn't so happy with it!
So he cooked 1 chicken breast which he then chopped up really small and added to the soup so it had small bits of real chicken in it.
It really lifted it and I really enjoyed it.
So did my ds who loves stewy type tastes.
My dd wasn't so keen but got her to eat it with a bit of persuasion.

Will freeze the rest for another day if I don't eat it all first...!

Didn't need to do the curry powder this time but will try in future - veggie curry soup sound yummy!

Well done Mics_chick, didn't go to waste after all. Putting chicken in it probably gave it some 'body' (no pun intended ) I use 2 forks to shred my chicken if I haven't boiled a whole chicken.

Now you can start experimenting. How about tomato and lentil? So easy and completely different taste to veg.