So Who Wants To Make Soup?

Mmmmm, soothing, delicious soup.

For reasons that are beyond my limited powers of comprehension, a lot of people think it’s hard to make soup.

I don’t get it.

When I was little, our family enjoyed home made soup every Monday night. My mom was at home with six kids while my Dad worked and went to college at night. In order to preserve at least a little of her sanity, Mom had a routine about what she cooked on each night. Tuesday would usually be a chicken or beef meal, like beef stew or roasted chicken. Wednesday was often pasta, Thursday was up for grabs, and Friday was fish. We’re Catholic, so of course Friday was fish.

On Saturday nights, my parents would go out for dinner with their friends, and we kids ate hot dogs and beans. Sunday was the biggest meal of the week, served in the mid-afternoon. While the rest of the week we had “supper”, on Sundays we all went to mass then came home and enjoyed “Sunday Dinner”. This meal could be anything from roast pork to lasagna to chicken cacciatore. Whatever it was, there was always a lot of it, and it was always delicious.

On Monday morning, one of Mom’s regular chores was cleaning out the fridge. All of the leftovers from the prior week would be laid out on the counter and then tossed into the soup pot. Some chicken, some pork, maybe a few leftover shrimp, some tomato sauce, a handful of carrots and a bit of rice. Boom. She’d add salt and pepper, water if needed, a few spices maybe. It simmered all day and we had it for dinner. It was our weekly surprise, and it was sometimes less than delicious, but it was always nutritious.

And it was always easy.

So.

Yesterday I was rummaging in my own fridge, and I found a butternut squash that had been put in there instead of in the cool basement cupboard. It had been pushed behind a loaf of bread, and it was looking less than its best. In fact, the skin was wrinkly and it felt a bit soft.

(Damn, why didn’t I take a picture of it?)

Anyway, I had to figure out what to do with this aging veggie.

It was a cold and rainy day. It smelled like fall.

So, obviously…..squash soup!!!

Anyway, I looked around a bit more, saw that I had a half an onion and two apples that were going soft. Perfect.

It took me ten minutes to cut and peel the veggies, and to add water, salt and pepper. I put it all in my soup pot and let it simmer for 2 hours. Ten more minutes to finish the preparation, and I had a delicious, savory and filling soup.

I made the biscuits, too, but you’re still a novice. You’re not ready for those yet!

Go to the recipes page to learn how to make this super easy meal.

You’re welcome.