June 2019 Grocery Challenge

Pixie_Fairydust wrote: »

Thanks for the soup maker thoughts!

What is your go to soup? Any veggie recipes would be gratefully received. I’m sick of sarnies for lunch 5 days a week. I fancy some lovely homemade soup.

Pix
XX

OK - I sort of made this up but it is tasty! Courgettes make it creamy tasting (who knew) and are so cheap at the moment - I substitute Butternut squash in winter and bang it in a roasting dish with oil, salt and pepper first for half an hour on 190c so it is roasted and sweet - but it needs more chilli in the winter (if you are a chilli-head like me). I have probably explained a bit too much as i don't know your cooking experience level so forgive anything that is obvious to you .

Ingredients - onions, carrots, celery (if you have it - just leave it out if you don't) - a sweet potato, if they are cheap, peeled and chopped, 2/3 courgettes (medium size), seasoning; salt, pepper, mixed herbs, and a veg stock pot/cube, and water - and my personal failing is I always add chilli flakes or tabasco or sometimes chopped ginger)

I chop the veg first so it just goes in when I am ready for it. Try and chop the veg about the same size so it takes the same amount of time to cook. Mine is a bit smaller than a cm (it will just take a bit longer to cook through if you chop it bigger)

Method
Chop up two medium onions and a large (or 2 medium) carrots and put them in a large deep saucepan with a glug (probably a couple of tablespoons) of olive oil and fry them until soft but not going brown or catching (also the ginger, if it is fresh and you are using it).

Add the chopped sweet potato and celery if you have these (I use the middle bit when I buy a head - so the leaves and yellow bits, chopped and kept in the freezer as a go-to top up) - the middle of a head or about 2-3 sticks. If I don't have these I sometimes add a couple of frozen spinach balls instead.

At the same time I add a good pinch of salt, three or four twists of black pepper, a large pinch of mixed herbs (my mix is dried oregano, thyme, mint and basil, where I am generous with the oregano and mint). keep stirring it so it doesn't catch. Add the chopped up courgettes and then after a minute or two, add the stock pot/cube and enough water to cover the veg.

Bring it to the boil and stir it occasionally (so nothing catches on the bottom - dig it off with a wooden spoon if it has started to catch - it is likely to be onion or sweet potato and will add a little sweetness as it caramelises) - the consistency of porridge before it thickens will tell you if you have enough water.

Put the lid on, turn the heat down to a bare simmer and time 25 minutes. Turn the heat off after this and after maybe ten minutes to cool a bit (just so I am not spattering me and the kitchen with boiling soup) I use the stick blender on a medium speed. It is likely to be too thick at this point but I slacken it with a bit more water when I reheat it to serve and adjust the seasoning to taste.

This lasts me a week and by not adding the water until I want to cook it, takes up less space in the fridge. I also re-boil all of it every 3-4 days to make sure it does not ferment or go bad - old recipes claim you can keep soup going indefinitely this way. I have never had a problem (after 35 years cooking) - mostly I have 3 spoons or ladles-full for lunch

If you want to add a little variation (posh it up for visitors eg), try adding a little garlic and herb cheese crumbled in when served and even a little cream or milk if you like it extra creamy. I always put a tiny bit of flaked salt on top and another twist of pepper but I like my food quite spicy.

Thank you Suffolklass

Will give the homemade soup a whirl over the weekend when I have more time!

Pix

getmyacttogether2016 wrote: »

Evening all

Chicken food, bedding, poultry tonic and cat litter bought so another £35.00 spent.

Total spends now £120.67.

GMAT

I notice you have UU toiletries in your signature - I got my stash down from two crates of bibs and bobs - things like scrubby sponges for your body that I now use as bathroom cleaning cloths to remove soap-scum from the shower and wash basin. - The "I'm ever going to use that" stuff went to a local charity for young carers - they offer them a night or two respite and apparently clean clothes and toiletries are often missing from their overnight bags so all my hotel freebies and gifted toiletries went there.

And I sent all the spare toothbrushes, trial brands of toothpastes and bars of shampoo to the Food-bank (I had maybe 15 cheap toothbrushes that were there for when my Son's friends stay over - but he has not lived here for nearly 7 years), and my Son took loads of toiletries like different shower gels and shampoos to his house.

Anyway, there used to be a thread on here with everyone's stash listed and accounted for as they were using up - are you on there?

Pixie_Fairydust wrote: »

Thanks for the soup maker thoughts!



What is your go to soup? Any veggie recipes would be gratefully received. I’m sick of sarnies for lunch 5 days a week. I fancy some lovely homemade soup.



Ok. I’ll try the pan method first!



I love Quorn. Mr T has a good veggie range (frozen), I do try to shop in @ldi & Lid! However not a great frozen veggie selection.

Pix
XX

We love Aldi and Lidl too, although we rarely shop at either of them due to the lack of frozen veggie stuff! I find if we have to go to more than one supermarket then we end up buying more stuff than we need, so we mostly just stick to Tesco now.

just catching up!! £58 spent over the last 10 days. mixture of chicken/dog and food for humans!! so £95 spent so far this month!!