Minnie's Soup Kitchen

Pumpkin and Apple Soup   It's Hallowe'en weekend and so pumpkin is on the menu.  There are two soup recipes in The Soup Book involving pumpkins: Monty Don 's pumpkin soup (which includes potatoes and tomatoes) and Jeanette Orrey 's pumpkin and apple soup. I was going to make both, but then changed my mind, having decided to make fudge (more on this later). I asked the spouse to choose between the two recipes and he opted for the latter. He does the shopping, so he deserves the power of choice. Sometimes. He headed off to the shopping centre and after a while he phoned to say there were no pumpkins left and that I should call down to "Young Stephen" (our local green grocer). So out the door with me in my new faux fur leopard print coat on the trail of pumpkins. I arrived down at Young Stephen's place of business to find one big pumpkin and lots of little ones. (When did little pumpkins come into vogue?) I bought the big one and when I got home decided

Portuguese Haddock Soup   Today finds me in the middle of a cooking blitz and it's not all going to plan.  Last week I thought I'd make oxtail soup. The spouse and I had the tails freezing in preparation for two recipes ( The Soup Book's oxtail soup and oxtail braise from Nigel Slater's Appetite ) but as I was browsing through The Soup Book I noticed that I haven't made too many fish soups; in fact, I've made only three out of the thirty-two in the Fish and Shellfish section. So I decided to make a fish soup and the Portuguese haddock caught my eye. Its ingredients include cavolo nero/kale/Savoy cabbage, onion, garlic, potato, milk and smoked haddock fillet. The spouse duly did the shopping, coming home with a Savoy cabbage and haddock fillet, the latter bought at Feeney's Fish (see blog of 14th August). Because there was plenty of cabbage and twice the weight of haddock needed, I decided to make double the quantity. The plan was to freeze the soup that

Sausage and Bean Soup I started writing this entry yesterday evening (Saturday 9th October) after I finished making sausage and bean soup from the Poultry, Game and Meat section of The Soup Book . It was for the two sons' dinner - the spouse and I were going out to dine.  The recipe is suggested by Eric Treuille of Books for Cooks (I have to admit I haven't heard of him before). The main ingredient is, of course, sausage meat. The other ingredients are cherry tomatoes, garlic, chilli flakes, cannellini beans, stock, balsamic vinegar and parsley or basil.  It didn't take too long, but it did involve roasting the tomatoes before starting the saucepan work, and liquidising a cupful of the beans and tomatoes for the final stage of cooking. There were a number of options for this sausage and bean soup. In his introduction, Eric Treuille writes, "We use chicken, honey and herb sausages in this dish, but other types work just as well." Then the ingredients state: &q

Rosemary's bean soup with Italian cheese chips Today I made my thirtieth soup! Before I start writing about this soup, I'll tell you a little bit more about the contents of The Soup Book . It's divided into these sections: Techniques ; Recipe Choosers ; Summer Vegetables ; Winter Vegetables ; Pulses and Nuts ; Fish and Shellfish ; Poultry, Game and Meat ; Fruit ; Cheese ; and Breads . Techniques covers making stock, preparing vegetables, herbs, spices and pulses, pureeing, thickening, enriching, rescuing, garnishing, storecupboard essentials, and making use of leftovers.  The other sections contain just what their titles indicate! I have made eleven summer vegetable soups, five winter vegetable soups, five from Pulses and Nuts , three from Fish and Shellfish , four from Poultry, Game and Meat , and two from Cheese . It's obviously going to take me a while to get through The Soup Book . I have no idea why this soup is called Rosemary's bean soup. It contains ros