Farmhouse Soup
Farmhouse Soup - MS Word document for downloading
This is another of Audrey Ellis’s recipes for a family of four - you eat one portion and freeze two. I love home made soup for lunch on Saturdays when it’s cold and wet. You can vary the vegetables in Farmhouse Soup - just use what you have to hand. I used onion, turnip, carrots, swede, and parsnip. I had some cooked left over sweet corn and peas, so I added those just before the end of cooking time. If you are worried about the time needed to dice all the veg, buy a packet of diced frozen mixed veg instead.
Much of the success of soup making depends on the stock. Rather than making my own stock, (it takes too long!) I often use Marigold Swiss Bouillon, as it gives a good flavour without being salty. No GM is also an advantage. You can liquidise the veg and add some milk if you wish to make it a Cream of Vegetable Soup. Serve with grated cheese, lots of fresh bread (or Soda bread - recipe coming shortly!) and butter.
Serves 4, (plus 2 batches for the freezer). Makes about 5 pints (2½ litres)
Preparation Time: 10 minutes (5, if using frozen mixed veg)
Cooking time: About 1 hour
bacon, bay leaves, chicken stock, mixed herbs, thyme
In “The Complete Book of Home Freezing”, Audrey Ellis has some wonderful recipes, which I have used for years. (Yes, it is a very old book and she was writing long before the advent of “Ready Meals”!) I adopted quite a bit of her theory “My experience has always been that multiplying the basic amount to serve your family by three, produces a quantity that is practical to cook, (unless you have a very large family). This gives you a meal to serve and two to store…” Over a period of time, you can build up quite a selection in the freezer - so you can have evenings “off” where you are simply reheating previously made dishes. This is a bonus if you are very busy or tired (as at the end of term!) or ill. On a more cheerful note, it also means you can treat unexpected visitors to your home cooking.
Chicken in Cider is another of the