Roasted Squash Soup

(serves 6) with leftovers (well, maybe)​
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Ingredients​
2 acorn squash
1 quart vegetable or chicken stock ( we usually through the chicken carcass from our  roasted chicken dinner into a pot with onions, garlic, herbs, celery and carrots. Simmer for about an hour and then sieve the juice for the chicken broth. For vegetarians: lose the chicken).
1 onion
A couple of cloves of garlic
Fresh ginger
Add milk or cream at the end if you wish

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​How To

1. Cut two acorn squash into quarters and roast with a little olive oil. (Takes about 90 minutes)
2. Chop the onions and slow cook them on the stove top in a little olive oil until carmelized  (brown and sweet)
3. Once the squash is cooked then scoop out the flesh (sorry, vegans) and add it to the chicken/vegetable stock with the onions
4. Simmer for about ten minutes and then puree
5. Salt to taste (Use fleur de sel if you can. You'll get addicted to its sweet deliciosity.)
6. Add the grated ginger just before serving

7. If you like, plonk a dollop of plain yogurt or sour cream in your soup.

 

 

 

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Diana’s Basic Garden Soup

This soup is quick and easy to make, and yet very delicious. It is also adaptable, according to what is available in your garden, and according to your own preferences.  That is why no measurements for the ingredients are given.  If you haven’t got all the ingredients in your garden then cheat a bit and get what you’re missing from the market, or trade with other gardeners.
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Ingredients

The ‘base’ for the soup is cooking onions, garlic, carrots and potatoes.  The recipes can otherwise be varied.
 

Have a couple of pints of boiling water ready at hand.
 

​How To

1. Pour into a heavy-bottomed saucepan sufficient rapeseed or other unsaturated vegetable oil to cover the bottom of the pan, and sautee in the saucepan chopped up cooking onions, chopped garlic, diced carrot and diced potato. Cook through until soft but not brown. (Brown or burnt vegetables will spoil the flavour of the soup.)

 

2. Add other available vegetables such as chopped up leeks, celery and zucchini (courgettes), and immediately add to this cooking mixture sufficient boiling water to cover the vegetables and a bit more. How much more will depend on how thick you want your soup to be.

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3. Add a bay leaf as well if you have one.  Continue cooking for about 15 minutes.
 

4. If you have them, you can also add split green peas, lentils, chopped tomatoes, or white haricot beans, according to taste. If adding lentils or tomatoes, also include a bit of dried coriander.
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Note: It is recommended that you don not add beets, broccoli, other cabbages or other greens to this soup, as these vegetables have too strong an individual flavour and are better used as feature veggies in their own soups. Similarly, pumpkins and other 'orange' squashes are better as stand-alone soups. They're not 'party vegetables'.
 

5. Some vegetables absorb more water than others, so you may wish to add more water during the cooking.

6. After the cooking is finished, add salt and pepper to taste.  If you like your soup chunky, then serve as is.  Or use a hand blender to make it a smooth French-style soupe de legumes.