Soup & Stew Season is Here!

[Shermie]

Now that the summer is sadly over and autumn is in the air, I think that it is time to pull out that big stock pot or Dutch oven and start making some soup in the cool & cold days ahead!

Soup & stew season is once again upon us.

It is a comfort food that helps keep you warm by the fire, helps keep colds at bay during the fall and winter months ahead. Stew is also a comfort food. Similar in flavor to beef soup, but has a thick gravy to it instead of a thin liquid. Beef stew is my favorite stew!

I plan to make my first soup for the season soon, which would be Veggie Beef & Barley Soup. My favorite one! Behind that one would be split pea soup.

 

[QSis]

Yep, so far, I've made a split pea soup with a ham bone from a ham I smoked awhile ago.

The next one I'd like to make is the one Buzz posted here http://www.netcookingtalk.com/forums/showthread.php?p=281829#post281829

Lee

 

[ChowderMan]

while you can still fresh stuff, try:
no need to retype the whole thing, here's the link:

<http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/garden-vegetable-soup-recipe/index.html?oc=linkback>

This has become a favorite out of our kitchen.

we use fresh
- leeks
- green beans
- carrots
- corn, cut off the cob
- tomatoes - best from the garden

you can get pretty much everything but a decent fresh tomato year round, so this is good one for drifting snow . . . .
works with wooden tomatoes, just slightly less jummy.

DW isn't a big parsley fan, so I hold that out for selective sprinkles. I put more on mine than in the pix.

Depending on how many you want to feed - consider cutting the recipe in half - for two, ultra plenty.

looks like:

 

[Cooksie]

I cook soup year round, but i do tend to cook it more during the cold weather. Gumbo has to be my favorite, any kind from seafood, to chicken/andouille, to turkey/andouille.

 

[luvs]

beef/veggie stews, lentil & most other legume soups, broccoli/cheddar soup, & my curried carrot rank rank high on my list.

 

[QSis]

Chowderman, how did you get that deep golden color for your broth?

That looks delicious, the way my Polish Aunt Stella would make it. But she added fresh dill instead of parsley. YUMMMM!

Lee

 

[Mountain man]

I was looking at some beef stew chunks in the freezer today. Going to be too warm and we are very busy with plants and garden this week but before long i will put a nice stew together. Have 2 more stalks of celery and about 5 more cauliflower to pick yet so they might end up in it also.

 

[Mama]

For some reason I never thought about putting cauliflower in Beef stew before...what a great idea Mountain man!

I'm like Cooksie. Soup is served year round in our house. Bacon Cheeseburger Soup has become our favorite: http://netcookingtalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19451

 

[ChowderMan]

>>broth color

nothing but the listed ingredients - I think the fresh tomato and corn provide the color blend - you get a bit of (corn) "milk" from slicing it right off the cob.

the leeks are not browned - just sweated soft - and using Russets for the potato they provide a bit of starch 'thickener' altho as you can see it does not get very thick.

 

[belaine]

I love soup! Make it year round. Put kale in my vegetable soup and it added nice flavor.

 

[QSis]

I love soup! Make it year round. Put kale in my vegetable soup and it added nice flavor.

Kale is one of the best things you can put in your mouth! Great texture, too, if you cook the be-jayzus out of it!

Lee

 

[belaine]

Yes, cooked it a long time. I like the fresh green color and add spinach at the end for that.

 

[JoeV]

I've been saving chicken pieces-parts in the freezer since the weather got warm, and it's about time to make a big ole' pot of chicken stock for soup and other uses. Must have about 10# of bones & skin in the freezer from bone-in breasts that I buy on sale, then de-bone them. Nothing goes to waste if you have room to store it in the freezer.

 

[Shermie]

Here are pics of my soup;

 

[Shermie]

Two more;

 

[QSis]

That's a hearty-looking dish, Sherman!

Perfect for a cool Fall evening!

Lee

 

[Cooksie]

I made cream of cauliflower last night and used both Swiss and gruyere .

I've never had lentil soup, so I tried to find a can of Progresso lentil soup just to see if I'd like it before making a batch...none to be had .

 

[QSis]

I've never had lentil soup, so I tried to find a can of Progresso lentil soup just to see if I'd like it before making a batch...none to be had .

If you like pea soup, you will probably like lentil soup, Cooksie.

Lee

 

[luvs]

If you like pea soup, you will probably like lentil soup, Cooksie.

Lee

i agree- is similar, texturally (lentil has a texture not found via split pea, yet is comparable). w/ both being bland pre-seasoning, they may be flavored in various ways.
ham & garlic pair w/ both well.

 

[JoeV]

Made chicken & rice soup. Roasted off all the bones and pieces-parts, then simmered most of the day in the mirepoix that I sweat before adding the water. I also picked off the pieces of meat remaining on the bones, and returned them to the soup. It made 4 quarts of deeply flavored soup, and had it for dinner last night with sandwiches.

 

[chilefarmer]

Sherm, nice stew. I love beef shanks most wonderful beef flavor. Great choice. CF

 

[Cooksie]

I like split pea and ham soup, so I'll have to try making a batch of lentil soup. Heck I even like the Campbell's green blob in a can Split Pea and Ham.

I don't think I've ever used beef shanks, but oxtails make a great base for a stew/soup too.

 

[JoeV]

I like split pea and ham soup, so I'll have to try making a batch of lentil soup. Heck I even like the Campbell's green blob in a can Split Pea and Ham.

I don't think I've ever used beef shanks, but oxtails make a great base for a stew/soup too.

I LOVE oxtails, but around here they cost more than steak,

 

[Lefty]

Big on soup myself. I love chicken soups, chilli, harvest vegetable is another of my favorites. I have to have a lot of garlic bread or old fashioned crusty bread for dipping. Now I have to make a soup, thanks Sherman. LOL.

 

[LADawg]

It was a chilly 46° down here in Lower Alabama this morning, but by Tuesday the high will be back to around 80° . I have made potato soup twice already, but I make it year around, because it’s soooooo goooood!
WENDELL’S POTATO SOUP
2 Potatoes, medium sized, or as needed, peeled and diced into 1/4 inch pieces
Water, to cover Potatoes
Salt, to taste
5 Tablespoons Butter, divided into 2 tablespoons and 3 tablespoon
3 Tablespoons Flour
2 1/2 Cups Milk, or a little more if needed to reduce thickness of white sauce
1/3 Cup Cheddar Cheese, sharp, grated
3 Tablespoons Ham, diced into 1/4 inch pieces

Toppings For Soup
Bacon, cooked and crumbled, enough for at least 1 tablespoon per serving
Chives, finely chopped, enough for 1 teaspoon per serving
Cheddar Cheese, grated, enough for about 1 tablespoon per serving
Black Pepper to taste and additional Salt if needed

Place diced Potatoes in large sauce pan, cover with Water and boil for about 5 minutes or until fork tender. Drain, reserving water in which the Potatoes were cooked and remove 4 tablespoons of the Potatoes, and sit aside. Add Butter and Salt to remaining Potatoes. Mash adding a little Milk if necessary as if you were making mashed Potatoes and set aside.
In another large stock or soup pot make a white sauce by melting the 3 Tablespoons Butter, stir in the Flour, and cook over medium heat for 2 or 3 minutes. Whisk in the Milk, about a half cup at a time, until the sauce is medium thick. Pour in one cup of the reserved Potato water. Add the mashed up Potatoes. If the soup is too thick, thin with a few tablespoons of the reserved Potato water. Add the Cheddar Cheese and diced Ham. Bring to a simmer until the Cheese has melted and the soup is hot.
Serve in soup cups or bowls. Season with Black Pepper, and Salt if needed. Top each cup or bowl with soup toppings. Serve with Saltine Crackers or toasted French Bread.

 

[Cooksie]

Your potato soup sounds good, LADawg. The weather has been crazy here too...one day low 70's, next day 80's.

I LOVE oxtails, but around here they cost more than steak,

They are high, way too high for what they are...pieces of the dang tail . I looked yesterday, and they are going for about $4.70/lb here.

 

[QSis]

I love the sound of your potato soup, LA!

The addition of ham in the soup makes it for me!

Lee

 

[lilbopeep]

I make soup, stew, chili and stew all year long when the feeling strikes me.

The favs that I make homemade often are: wonton soup, chicken soup, beef/veg/barley soup, creamy mushroom, creamy clam chowder, creamy turkey or chicken soup, Cooksie's kale and bean soup, split pea and ham soup, lentil and rice soup. I make others but these are made often.

We are all sick here so I made chicken soup yesterday. Lentil soup and pea soup are my quick, last minute soups because they cook so quick. I actually make a beef veggie soup that I add lentils, split peas and barley to.

 

[Shermie]

That's a hearty-looking dish, Sherman!

Perfect for a cool Fall evening!

Lee

Thanks!

It's cold outside! I think I'll make some soup tomorrow.

 

[LADawg]

Thanks!

It's cold outside! I think I'll make some soup tomorrow.

There you go Sherman. Putting off until tomorrow what you could be doing today......