Lately I have been packing a thermos of soup with me for work. I had been living off of peanut butter sandwiches, but really, soup is much more my thing. Soup, or rather stew, gives me a full feeling with much fewer calories, gets more vitamins and minerals into my system, can be kept interesting through variety, and does a darn fine job of cleaning out my refrigerator. I love it.
Lately my boss has taken to visiting my desk at lunch time. As soon as I open the thermos and the aroma of soup drifts from my desk, she wanders over. She generally says something like “Having soup? What kind is it?” as she breaths deeply. She looks down into my cup-size thermos and comments on the dark green of spinach or rich orange of carrot. Sometimes she sighs a little wistfully and says something about how she loves soup, but isn’t any good at it.
Well, boss. This blog is for you.
How to make Refrigerator Soup.
Step one, open the refrigerator and see what’s in it. I generally have some left over chicken which makes a nice start. Sometimes there’s some left over pork chop or maybe a steak I can use. I make large batches of legumes – ranging from garbonzo beans to lintels and freeze them in small container with the intention of dumping them into soups. They make a great filler.
Put the water on to boil. I generally fill the pot about half full. I try to use a small pot if I’m only cooking for me so I won’t be eating the same soup all week long.
Put in anything that is going to take longer to cook. Dried beans, if you didn’t precook and freeze them, can take hours. Likewise, rice can take a while, particularly brown rice. Barley seems a little faster. Get them started first, or at the same time as raw meat.
Now for the seasonings. This is the part she is probably skipping. Don’t. Soup or stew without seasoning tends to come out like a cross between goulash and mush.
Most soup does well with thyme, rosemary, basil, and black pepper. Cumin, sage, final, file, and chili also work well. You’ll have to experiment to see which combinations you like best. I have been disappointed by bay leaves often enough to think twice before dumping them in. If you use file, wait until you are ready to serve before adding it. I’ve tried combination spices – like “Cajun barbecue” or “Lowrie’s seasoning salt” and decided not to mess with them anymore. Don’t forget salt. Soup sucks it up, so use a fair amount. I like to use bullion in place of salt.
So, you’ve got your water boiling with maybe some barley in it. Chop up and dump in the meat. Add the seasonings. Grab a bag of frozen vegetables and toss them in. You can get actual soup vegetables with potato, carrots, and onion in the frozen section of the grocery store. I’ve used that, lima bean – carrot – corn combo, stir fry combo, broccoli, okra, frozen spinach, and turnip greens (I thought I was buying spinach. Should have stopped to read the label) all to good effect. I’ve also tossed in left over baked potatoes, left over asparagus, etc. and enjoyed the results.
Starting with mostly precooked ingredients (leftovers) and using noodles as my starch I can generally go from boiling the water to eating in about 15 minutes. It reheats well, and I hardly ever burn it after having wandered back to my computer so long as there’s enough water in the pot.
Warning. Using precooked foods will change the taste of the soup. I’m sure my mother could give the chemical changes that take place in meat and vegetables cook in the oven before used in soup. I know there is one. Personally, I like it. You may not.
Alice
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