Stupid Easy Winter Soup

This recipe came to me by way of my ex-MIL, a chef. She said they used to make it as a quickie second soup at the inn where she worked. Every time it was presented, it was the most popular selection.

This is one of those super tasty, but super embarrassing recipes. Jellied cranberry sauce? You feed that to people over the age of 12? Seriously, though, the result is delicious. It is just the thing to accompany a grilled cheese sandwich on a cold night.
Cranberry Tomato Soup

• 1 can jellied cranberry sauce
• 1 can diced tomatoes

Dump both of these in a sauce pan. Cook until heated through. Seriously. That's it. If you want to fancify it, you could add a drizzle of heavy cream, a handful of dried cranberries, or perhaps a bit of crystallized ginger.

Homemade Vegetable Bouillon

As I've mentioned before, I think that having a pantry full of high quality ingredients is key for lazy foodiness. I can throw together a pretty respectable pasta with aged parmesan, some preserved lemon and some parsley snipped from the plant by my door. It's even more satisfying when these ingredients are homemade.

I found a great recipe for making your own homemade vegetable bouillon a few months ago on the fantastic cooking blog In Jennie's Kitchen. This has become a regular key player in dishes that need a little oomph. It has a much nicer flavor than bouillon cubes or canned broth, and it's cheaper, too. This recipe may seem high in salt, but, you only use it a teaspoonful or so at a time. Plus, the high amount of salt is needed to cure the vegetables and prevent them from spoiling. You should cure the bouillon for a couple of days to let it develop its peak flavor. However, I found that it's pretty good right after you make it, too. Feel free to make some substitutions for preferred vegetables, or to use up what you have on hand. For instance, Jennie's recipe calls for leeks. I omitted them and upped the onion and garlic, since those were what I had on hand.

Homemade Veggie Bouillon

• 2 carrots, roughly chopped
• 2 celery ribs, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 onion, peeled & quartered
• 4 cloves garlic
• 6 sun-dried tomato halves, chopped
• 3/4 cups cremini or white mushrooms cleaned and quartered
• generous handful of fresh parsley, including stems
• 3 1/2 ounces kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns

Mix all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Store in a clean container in the refrigerator. To use, mix one teaspoon bouillon with one cup boiling water.

Soup for the Lazy

I came up with this one night when nobody was that hungry, but I was sort of craving Chinese, and also had some tofu that needed to be used.  Wound up with a real easy and tasty hot and sour soup. The best part is that this is really quick, which is an asset in any soup you are cooking during the summer.


Lazy Hot and Sour Soup

• 6 cups water
• medium sized handful dried slivered tree ear mushrooms
• 1/2 block tofu, cut into strips
• 4 chicken bullion cubes
• a couple of cups of bok choi, chopped
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• big glug hot sauce
• 2 teaspoons corn starch

Bring the water to a boil and toss in the mushrooms. Turn off the heat and let them sit until tender. Package says 30 minutes, but I find it's more like 10. Turn the heat back on to medium and add the rest of the ingredients, except the corn starch. Simmer about 5 minutes. Take a ladle-full of hot soup, and stir in the corn starch. Mix this all back into the pot, and give it a minute or two to thicken a bit and for the raw flavor of the corn starch to cook off.

When looking at recipes online, I found that most include dried lily blossoms. I've seen these in Asian grocery stores, but always forget to pick some up. I'll grab a pack some time when I'm shopping, just to have on hand.