Blog Soup II

Been meaning to post this for a week or so. So, if you look at my earlier entry on "Blog Soup", you can tell quantity cooking has alot of practical applications - for a single/couple, it lets you prepare a weeks worth of quick meals, or for a busy family or a house full of guests, you can feed alot fast.

The concept of "watering the soup" seems to have negative connotations. It implies low-quality cooking, a cheap host offering a substandard meal, or a way to try to get rid of unwanted diners by offending them with soup that tastes like dishwater. I never really looked at it that way. I think when I was a child I heard my grandmother, or someone around her, joke that something was "no problem, we'll just water the soup!" In that context, it was an offer of additional, spontaneous hospitality. I remember growing up with a large extended family who would always welcome children and grandchildren to bring a friend along, and there would always be enough to offer.

Now, a creative cook and host does not, literally, just pour extra water into a bowl of someone's soup, of course. But, many dishes, like the aforementioned Blog Soup, lend themselves well to extension as leftovers. A leftover soup will thicken when cold, as liquid is absorbed by solid ingredients like rice, barley, potatoes or beans. It becomes less soupy - and hence, when you add water and re-heat for half an hour or so, you can have an additional quantity of home-cooked soup.

Here's how Blog Soup went through a second incarnation (some of which is still in the freezer!).

Sautee two chopped cloves of garlic, one chopped celery stalk, and half a dozen or so sliced mushrooms in a pot with a bit of olive oil. Cook until mushrooms browned and celery a little translucent, but not soft.

Add 3-4 cups of water, salt and pepper to taste, any other seasonings complimentary to your original soup, and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Add to existing pot of original, thickend leftover soup, and mix. At this point, add more water to appropriate consistency or volume needed.

Simmer for half an hour or so.

Still a darned good soup and you'll have a week of leftovers, or with a nice loaf of bread, a modest, hearty dinner for a group again.