Only the pure in heart can make a good soup.
- Ludwig van Beethoven -
I'm uncomplicated...and if you believe that you're fucken bonkers. I guess what I mean is that I prefer simple things and my life leans towards simplicity. I'm happy doing something outdoors: A picnic, hiking, camping, off-roading, hunting, kayaking, gardening and simple stuff like that. I'm content reading a book, playing my piano, writing, doing DIY jobs at home and I like simple gatherings of a few good friends and simple food, flesh seared on a fire...it's the good company that make average food great right? This is not to say I don't do other, less simple, things, I certainly do, but given the choice...yep, simplicity rules.
This same ethos extends to food. I'm not a fussy eater and if hungry enough...well, I'll eat whatever is around the place. I prefer quality ingredients though, and healthy foods; I put a balanced degree of importance of reasonable presentation as well, but aligned with that is my need to not overcomplicate things needlessly...which is where soup comes into play; it's one of my favourite foods.
Winter is over and as usual temperatures warm up rapidly and slurpin' soup isn't as legit in warmer weather as it is when it's colder - Just my own opinion of course.
Soup is so easy to make and in the cooler months I've always got some on the stovetop with a few varieties in the freezer for emergencies like when a few mates roll around and I want something quick to feed them so they shut the fuck up with their whinging. Warm up some crusty bread, slather with butter and serve with a bowl of soup, quick and simple.
One of the soups I love is pumpkin soup and I make it in different ways, all easy.
Basically it's three onions and about four cloves of garlic softened in some oil on low heat, then I throw in a couple kilograms of pumpkin (which I roast first to reduce the moisture content and make it sweeter), a couple litres of stock and simmer for a bit. Once done I blend it up to whatever consistency I want, add some salt and pepper, sometimes some sweet chilli sauce, and a stir of pouring cream in before serving and it's done...after a sprinkle of some freshly chopped herbs from my garden. Simple.
To the basic soup, (no sweet chilli added), I occasionally add some smoked paprika then top with small crispy bacon bits and pepitas I've cooked in some maple syrup - it's yum! Also occasionally, I tie some bay leaves and parsley together and add to the mix during cooking, tied together so they're easy to remove prior to blending. I stir in the pouring cream prior to serving as normal but add on thinly sliced grilled chorizo, roasted red capsicum (red peppers) and some roasted almond slivers. That's about as fancy and as complicated as I get. Result, fucken tasty!
Right now I've got some portioned containers of soup, pumpkin and potato and celery, in the freezer which will get used up with in a week or so, and then slurpin season will be over until it starts to cool down again; I'm always sad to see slurpin' season close out but the good thing is I have time to find some more recipes to try.
I know most of you northern hemisphere folks are going into cooler weather now and I wonder if that means it's slurpin' season for you too. Do you like or loathe soup? Yes, I know some people who hate soup for some reason, weirdos. Do you have any recipes you want to share in the comments below? Feel free to do so, I'm always keen to learn something new.
Design and create your ideal life, tomorrow isn't promised - galenkp
[Original and AI free]
Any images in this post are my own.
