Who doesn't like soup? It can be made by anyone, adapted for your own taste, and the best part is, it's healthy, it's made with all nutritional ingredients. It's a meal the whole family can enjoy together. A pot of soup is never enough in my home, everyone wants more, so I decided to multiply my choice of recipes and then I thought I'd share it, with you.This is my 5 litre quantity of soup making recipe book - Fifteen 330 ml portions, or, if you are small eaters then 250 ml would be enough and that would equate to Twenty portions per 5 litres. Soup is economical to make. Most vegetarian soups cost around £5 - £6 to make 5 litres. (The Exotica range is slightly more expensive). The only real expense is the initial outlay for the herbs and spices. But ... not all the soup recipes need herbs and spices. Use any flavor stock, I use vegetable Oxo cubes (2 per 1 litre of water) because I like it. My favorite place to buy fresh Veggies is Lidl's. I am not sponsored by Lidls I just believe they are worth a mention. And .... they sell British Farmed Produce at an affordable price. It's a win win situation. Soup is simple, its delicious, its healthy ... so make it fun. Don't be frightened to make a pot of soup ... it can rarely go wrong. The Drizzle and the Dust adds a new dimension to the soups and can be changed using your preferred Drizzle or Dust, see recipes. Just use your imagination. I have used the term 'Dip' for the bread but I like to use what I call 'Dippers' again imagination is necessary ..... buy puff pastry, cut into long thin strips, think about what flavor would go great with your soup, and sprinkle over the puff pastry strips .... parmesan cheese, pieces of sun-dried tomatoes, small cooked bacon pieces, coconut, anything ... 'use your Imagination' then twist the puff pastry strips and bake as directed. Maybe Sea Salt and Cracked Black Pepper are your thing .... or and this is an easy cheat ..... packet bread mix (there's loads out there to choose from and if you're confident enough just make your own), then follow the directions and when proved, roll out like pastry, cut into squares, use a pizza slicer, a knife, fancy biscuit shapers, a glass, anything, get your desired shape and guess what we do next, sprinkle with your favorite flavors ... the bake. You have your very own personalized 'Dippers' I made some with dried cranberries and even coconut and they were delicious. A curry soup with coconut dippers ... makes sense to me. Or, let's go back to the puff pastry, amazing stuff, buy it frozen much easier than making your own (that's my opinion) roll it out, place a dinner place on it, cut around it and place your favorite bits, I would suggest giving your veggies a head start with a quick fry in olive oil ie onions, garlic, peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes etc .. not too much oil, or the puff pastry will be soggie ... yuck! pop your stuff on the puff pastry and bake, follow packet instructions. Then slice and serve a piece of your own puff pastry pizza with your own homemade soup. Check out the web, google it, loads of ideas there for you to find. I did it ... so can you.p.s. As soup is so economical to make perhaps taking some down to your local food bank would appeal to you x
About the Author: I have always loved to feed people, family, friends and neighbors, anyone and everyone. Hence the 5 litre recipes .. and believe me, it won't last long, everyone loves homemade soup. I hate to think that people are hungry. Soup is the most economical food to make and most people can make it, and those who think they can't make soup should give it a go, you will be able to make it if you try. I think 'Soup' is sometimes seen as boring, not substantial enough so I have tried to turn it into a meal, a satisfying meal with the addition of 'Dippers' Make soup fun, its something the whole family can get involved in. Who can't peel a spud? Soup can also keep you healthy, you can pack it with loads of different veggies - get 5 of your 5 a day requirement in one dish of food. You can lose weight eating soup ... just don't add the cream, stick to the more tomato based soups. You can spice it up ... or not! You're the one in control when you make a soup. Add the spices at the beginning to cook them out, raw spices can taste bitter and add herbs at the end .. what could be easier. There are thousands of cook books out there, I am not saying mine is any better, I just wanted to add a bit of fun to eating soup. Hopefully this read will give you the incentive to try out your own ideas .... Use your imagination ... I did and it tastes great. Bon Appetite