h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I've been trying to lean towards veggies and away from meat not because of what it does to poor little Elsie and Porky, but because it doesn't seem sustainable. It doesn't make sense to burn oil transporting five or ten pounds of grains to the poor devils for each pound of meat produced, when we could eat the grains or vegetables directly. Not to mention the cancer rates and health problems of people who work at factory farms, or even live downwind of the darn things.

Anyhow, enough of that. What I really want to know is what are the best products or vegetables for flavoring soups? I've gotten to the point where I can throw in a lot of potatoes, onions, carrots, some greens, brown rice, or just a plain bean soup. I don't particularly crave meat, but too often I get a big batch of this stuff together and it's flavorless, or not very enticing. I end up putting a few scoops of ham soup base into the stuff to make it tolerable.

What vegetables should I try for stronger flavors, or as a last resort, what products? I want to emphasize that I'm not looking for a meat lookalike or substitute, just something to give it flavor. Something besides garlic!

I'm vegetarian and I hardly ever use stock. Here's what I do instead:

Saute onions, garlic (optional ), herbs or spices.

Chop veges into required size and add to onion _one vege at a time_.

Saute, or braise (add a wee bit of water) each vegetable for 3-5 mins _with the lid on_ before adding the next one.

Add slower cooking veges earlier than faster cooking ones.

Add water to cover, and salt, and any other ingredients like beans or grains, and bring to boil. Turn down and simmer until veges (or beans/grains) are soft. It is important to cook the soup slowly not at a rolling boil. Slower cooking releases flavours into the liquid and brings out the flavour in the veges much better than fast cooking (this is true for grains and beans too btw).

I make quite 'plain' soups eg pumpkin and rosemary, this way and they taste delicious. Also more complex mixed vege soups.

The key points are the saute-ing of the veges and the slow cooking


I also tend to use larger quantities of culinary herbs than most cook books suggest. Sometimes I will double or even triple the amount.

The other thing that makes a difference is quality of ingredients esp thing like dried herbs. They should still smell clean and strong in the packet or jar. If not biff them.

And make sure you use salt (it brings out the flavour of the veges too). Sea salt is best for health is that is a concern.


kea.

i have always thought that water makes a pretty good soup base for veggies.

many times when i'm getting ready to prepare a soup i'll go to the store and along with the old stand-by's i pick a few that are random, or otherwise unknown to me. Soup is one of those things that is pretty hard to get wrong, (though not impossible)

cutting to size is important for combining veg's of differing composition. potatoes should be cut fairly small, and cooked first, unless you prefer them crisp.

also you don't need to make a huge amount of one combination, try a small batch and see how it is. chop and place the ingredients in the pot you're gonna use, to see that it's neither too much nor too small.

you may want to keep track of what and how much so you can make it again if it's really good, (though i rarely do).

Any idea's for ingredients that may not be obvious?

iii

When I make a vegetable soup base, I use oven roasted vegetables to give it a deeper flavor...

I take a couple of carrots, cut into 4 pieces or so; a whole potato, cut into about 6 pieces; a large onion cut into quarters; a stalk of celery (just one, more throws the balance off) cut into about 5 pieces; and 3 or 4 unpeeled cloves of garlic (or more, your mileage may vary). Season with some thyme, a little oregano, a couple of dashes of sea or kosher salt and a few grinds of black pepper.

Place the vegetable pieces into a stock pot (8 quarts size), splash with about 1/3 cup of the best extra virgin olive oil you have (or other oil with a nice flavor) and toss.

Heat your oven to around 375F (sorry, I don't know the gas mark number) and as it's heating, saute the vegetables BRIEFLY in the stock pot. You just want to start them sweating, so they'll brown in the oven nicely.

Spread them out as widely as possible in a shallow baking pan (not touching is good - they brown better that way). Bake them for about 30-45 minutes or until the potatoes, onions, carrots and all are nicely brown.

Place the vegetables and pan juices back into the stock pot and cover up with water to 1 - 1 1/2 inches below the top. Then loosely cover and simmer on low for about 2 hours (or you can make this in the slow cooker, but cook for about 6 hours on low).

This makes about 3 1/2 to 4 quarts of very flavored stock, which you strain and use as a base for several soups, rice or whatever. When you use it, you will add more water, depending on what you use it for. I usually get about 3-4 soups out of batch (and I don't ususally use the vegetables as they're cooked to rags by then). This is terrific for rice, soups, vegetable stew and to cook other vegetables in. YUM!

Yes, it's a lot of work, but it's SO worth it!


SC

Hi kea,
I'll try sauteing and braising one at a time, and simmering instead of boiling. Why is sea salt healthier?


Hi greytfl3iii,
"...water makes a pretty good soup base..."
Bet you can sit in a bowl of ice cream and tell what flavor it is. I try to experiment with unusual vegetables (at least ones that my mother rarely used). Lately I've been trying parsnips because I saw Martha Stewart use it in a simple chicken soup recipe, and it turned out fairly nice. Needs to be used in moderation though.

I've also tried writing down the recipes as I throw things together, because it smells and looks good in the middle of the process. But somehow that always jinxes me, and the final result is something that I wouldn't want to bother duplicating.


Hi SpaceCadette,
I'll try roasting veggies first, but the idea of throwing them away after making broth is anathema to me. If they're really that bad, I would rather toss them in my freezer and wait til some desperate day when I'm too lazy or broke to get fresh ingredients.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Later,
Deidzoeb

What I understand about sea salt is that it is much less refined than table salt. It is made the same way but has more of the natural elements in it that have been removed from table salt.

Table salt is essentially pure sodium chloride (the other minerals having been removed) plus any additives like free flow agents or iodine.

Sea salt is sodium chloride plus a range of other minerals, and these are considered by many to be essential for health (i.e you want the whole food rather than just one chemical).

The theory is that table salt is what causes the health problems associated with salt (because of it's highly refined nature, and because of the additives), and that natural salt is not a problem in and of itself. Of course the quantity that one eats also counts for alot.


There is alot of info on the internet if you want to research further. Here's one link: http://www.pacificharvest.co.nz/wa.asp?idWebPage=7714&idDetails=1093

I should add that many companies are jumping on the sea salt bandwagon, and some products are still highly refined. It pays to either research a brand before you buy, or to buy from a retailer that you trust to have done this research. The term 'sea salt' on the packet is now often meaningless by itself.

This is my current favourite soup... Doesn't take much effort and freezes really well.

Zucchini and tomato soup

Ingredients:
* 1 clove garlic, crushed
* 1tbsp olive oil
* 900g tomatoes, skinned and chopped
* 25g dried porcini mushrooms (optional, and expensive)
* 600ml water or veg stock
* 450g zucchini, grated
* fresh basil, shredded
* salt and pepper
* parmesan cheese

Brown the garlic in the oil. Add the chopped tomatoes and dried mushrooms, bring to the boil and simmer for ~10 mins. Add the stock and zucchini and simmer for 20 mins. Add half the basil and liquidise the whole thing. Serve garnished with the cheese and the remaining basil. Yum!

"Bet you can sit in a bowl of ice cream and tell what flavor it is."
Ha! I'm not sure if i should take that as a compliment or insult?!...
I supose it was a simple reply to a simple statement, but just out of curosity, how much would you bet?
I've got a pint of mint chocolate swirl that says I can. (well it really doesn't say anything, it just kinda sits there in the bowl) and its soy dream not ice cream!!!

Sorry, it's an indirect way of calling you a smart [alec]. If a person could sit in a bowl of ice cream and distinguish the flavor, what part of the person would be smarter than usual?

Hope you're not too offended. After people call me a smart [alec], I always use this line, that I can sit in a bowl of ice cream and tell what flavor it is.

nice, i'll remember that one!

Roasting veggies first worked really well, but I'm not sure if that's due to the roasting or due to the added oil. Either way, I'll definitely try it again.

I am really a terrible cook, soup is one thing I have had some luck with. I'm going to keep these ideas in mind next time i start to stew things up!!!
I'm real good at taking random things and combining them into some form of sandwich. In fact, bread is not always an ingredient

Top Ramen Spinach Sandwich:

1 pkg. Oriental flavor top ramen
1 can. Spinach

Carefully open can of spinach, (the popeye thing hardly ever works). Eat some spinach as there will be more than enough for the 'sandwich'. Open top ramen package so as to form plate like thing out of wrapper (this will help catch the juices from the spinach). Nibble at the edges of the ramen noodles so they may be seperated into halves (or quarters if you want to make two). Open small package of Oriental Flavor (optional) by gently tearing off one corner. Use Oriental flavor sparingly as it is SUPER-salty (those on a low sodium diet should skip this step). After placing generous amount of spinach on lower half of ramen sprinkle on flavor (seriously this stuff is like purer-than-pure salt so don't use too much). Place top half of ramen directly above spinach (also optional). Eat. Repeat as necessary.

Sorry, I guess this was kinda self-explanatory!!!

So the ramen stays crunchy and uncooked? Or do you wait for some of the spinach juice to be absorbed by the ramen so it's a little softer? I might be willing to try those together as a soup, but that sandwich sounds a little too raw for me.

Either way, depending on how you like your ramen/bread. It's just something I discovered while sitting around someone else's pool while they weren't home!

(I know the people so it wasn't *trespassing*)
Adding the spinach to the soup is a good idea, I was just working without any heat, and no bowl!

Deidzoeb said: "Roasting veggies first worked really well, but I'm not sure if that's due to the roasting or due to the added oil. Either way, I'll definitely try it again."

Hi Deidzoeb! I just tried a recipe (from my nutrition newsletter) using some of my frozen roasted veggie broth.


Clean out the Crisper Vegetable Soup

· Chop what you have and set aside (some good ones are carrots, celery, cabbage, zucchini, turnips etc.)
· 1 small onion chopped
· 1 can diced tomatoes (15 oz.)
· 1 tsp. garlic powder (or 2-3 REAL garlic cloves, smashed!)
· 1 tsp. thyme
· salt and pepper to taste

In a soup pot, saute the onion till almost clear. Add the rest
of the vegetables and cook about 2 minutes. Add the roasted veggie broth (I had about 3 cups or so, from the freezer) and seasoning. Let simmer till chopped vegetables are tender and serve with plenty of bread and butter.

This will make a couple of quarts at least, and leftovers can be put in frig to be microwaved or heated through later.

If you're not strictly veggie, you COULD add a good chicken broth instead, but why?

SC

P.S. -- in my original post I said I usually didn't use the roasted veggies, but that's not true. Lately I've been pureeing them with my stick blender and adding them back, with a little added water. Makes a cloudy thick broth but great rice, stew and soup! Great for chilly weather.