Cookery help please

liz-paul

Hi everybody!

I am a reasonable cook but I have a few questions, and I thought this would be a good place to ask. I have done some googling already.

1. Where is a good place to find soup recipes? Specifically I want my family to eat more vegetables but my 2 boys (and to an extent me) are quite fussy. I want to find some soup recipes that incorporate quite a bit of veg but which taste good too. They don't need to be 'diet' soups so can include ingredients such as butter/cream if needed. I am gluten free but can adapt most recipes anyway. Also the soups really need to smooth not lumpy, with the possible exception of meat like chicken/bacon added after everything else has been blended. I am looking for recommendations for cook books, websites, google search terms or even single recipes.

2. As above but slow cooker recipes? I just bought a slow cooker but I'm not sure what to do with it. Probably slightly complicated by me and the 2 boys (hubby is ok) being not too keen on casserole type dishes. I don't mind eating some but I want to find other recipes as well.

3. I bought a turkey drumstick with the idea of making stock (I am intolerant to yeast extract & MSG as well being gluten free so most ready made stocks/stock cubes etc are no good for me). Not sure if I will use the meat for soups or something else like a curry. Should I roast my turkey drumstick or boil/slow cooker it?

I'm sure I had something else to ask but I've forgotten now. I've had a look through the recipes on the grocery challenge for some inspiration which has been good. I'm heading out now but will reply to anything later. Thanks all

andrewsmum

As for the recipes just do a search on google or any other search engine, you will find LOADS.


To make your stock I personally would use the slow cooker. You will get the stock and the meat will just fall off the bone. You could brown it first if you wish in a frying pan

Auntie_Sceb

I always like a sweet soup - so probably similar to your kids! I would use whatever you have but to start fry some onions until soft. Then add whatever you have chopped up and stir them with the onions for a couple of minutes , carrots, parsnip nice and sweet. Then add some stock. One or two potato to thicken. Then to make it sweet I'd add some sweetcorn - lovely blended. For a sweet flavour ground coriander nice. For protein add red lentils, chick peas, butter beans (I don't eat meat). Also nice to add orange to carrots soup or apple to parsnip.

(If you couldn't use stock could perhaps use a squeeze of tomato puree but not essential if you use spice or herbs to taste)

Whilst it is good to eat a more varied diet. One portion of soup is still only one portion of vegetables (unless a very large portion!). So you will be increasing their variety but not necessarily the amount of vegetables they eat - unless you send it to school in a flask instead of sandwiches or have it as a starter.

Linda32

Root veggies are best for soup making I have found. When I used to make soup I added potatoes to make it thick. It can be as smooth as you want it to be its just a question of blending it.

I don't tend to make it any more as I don't really like soup.

I would roast your turkey drum stick.

I haven't got a slow cooker but I do have a setting on my oven which I use in the winter. I use it to cook brisket with veggies. So this becomes a meat and two veg meal. Does this appeal more than a casserole?

Auntie_Sceb

Also pulses can count as 1 of your five a day (and as protein). You can't use them to count for more as they're not as good as other vegetables for nutrients (http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/5ADAY/Pages/Whatcounts.aspx).

However it's easy to add these to a chill, shepherd's pie, moussaka, Bolognese, curry. Also easy to add some veg to these dishes too.

Not forgetting Baked Beans.

Lilyplonk

Here's some websites that might be useful to you. I've resorted to quite a few from them and then adapted to suit my family's tastes.

http://www.homemadesoup.org/

http://www.cookuk.co.uk/soup-recipes.htm

http://www.allotment-garden.org/recipe/334/celery-soup-recipe/

http://www.riverford.co.uk/recipes/

Good Luck

Evil_Olive

No recipe needed - I only ever use one basic soup recipe and adapt it.
It also happens to be a great one for 'hiding' veg from kids

BASIC SOUP-BASE INGREDIENTS
1 onion
one carrot
one stick of celery
1 pint of stock made up with stock cubes according to packet (for oxo this is 3 stock cubes to a pint of water or I use 2 if it's a soup with a delicate flavour eg tomato, asparagus, mushroom)
I use mainly veg stock cubes for veg soup but chicken for delicate flavours as above or beef for very strong flavours like onion soup. For meat soup I use the appropriate flavoured stock cube (beef, chicken, lamb etc)
butter (Clover is fine, and cheaper, but all other marges taste horrible)
black pepper

MAIN FLAVOUR INGREDIENTS
variable ingredients according to the type of soup you're making
1 to 1 1/2 pounds of the main ingredient - eg carrots for carrot soup - different for meat, see below

for meat soups you don't need 1 - 1 1/2 pounds - I just use leftovers - eg I'll pick a chicken carcass clean with a fine tooth comb & bung in the pickings along with strong chicken stock (you can add extra flavour to the stock by boiling the bones in it for an hour and then sieving the bits out). I'll also use half butter and half dripping if I have some from the meat. I put a potato in to give the thickness/bulk missing due to lack of other vegetables if the soup is meat only, otherwise you should get enough bulk from, say, a pound of mixed stewpot type veg. Half the meat gets blended into the soup and half goes in at the end as 'chunks'

ANY ACCENT INGREDIENTS
a suitable amount of the accent flavour - eg juice & zest of an orange for 'carrot and orange' soup

METHOD
chop all basic ingredients and accent ingredients (unless delicate - see below)
bung in a saucepan (keep a little back to add later if you like chunks in your soup) - cook gently in the butter for 10 mins
Pour in the stock and simmer for 20 mins
stick a handblender in and whizz it up till smooth
add any 'chunks' and heat/cook through gently
add any delicate accent ingredients, season with salt and extra butter/pepper to taste, stir in and serve.

some accent ingredients (like the sweet peppers and chilli pepper for tomato & pepper and chilli soup) I put in at the start and they get blended along with the basic and main ingredients
some accent ingredients with a delicate flavour (like orange or fresh parsley) I stir in right at the end

I've never needed to use flour or thickening agents - they spoil the texture and make it gloopy - if you want your soup thicker, add a potato at the beginning (experiment with sizes)

I batch cook these soups all the time & freeze - saved my life when my tomato crop DIDN'T get blight for the first time last summer and I ended up with FORTY-FOUR POUNDS of tomatoes o_O

Because I'm using the same basic recipe all the time and don't need to keep referring to a recipe I find I can cook it very quickly and don't have to buy special ingredients so it saves time

I've made hundreds of different flavour combinations this way, none of which tasted the same - my other half takes it to work for his lunch and his workmates are always trying to steal it

Soup tip: You can never add too much butter or pepper.
Diet tip: don't eat Evil olive's soup

If you would like me to list some of the adaptations I've successfully done with this recipe to get you started, let me know

Happygreen

I would slow-cook the leg, then turn it into a pie, one less dinner to think about. From the liquid make stock We keep all the chicken, pork and lamb bones in the freezer until we have a decnt amount to fill a pressure cooker. First we'll have soup from them and then I make stock with lots of herbs , tomatoes and leeks/onions.

sooty&sweep

Hi
I use a turkey drumstick to make a turkey curry in the slow cooker. The meat just falls off the bone.
Jen

madvixen

Pinterest is brilliant for recipes, especially slow cooker ones.

Willowpop

There is also a pretty good Facebook group called slow cooker saddos if you're a Facebook user.