If you are like me a lot of your recipes from your "pre think about the sodium, GMOs and other nasty stuff" period include a lot that call for a can of "Cream of Something" Soup. I've been working on substitutions for those nasty cans of "ESRF" and have come up with some winners to share with you :)
The first thing you need to do is grow a nice garden or find your "Local Guy" or Farmer's Market. I'm lucky! I have both the garden and a "Local Guy" a couple miles down the road. I also have a "Non-Yuppie" Farmer's Market in Shelton.
This is what a "Local Guy" looks like ...
A produce stand on the side of the road. The owner knows the farmers and he knows his business. Steve, who owns this stand, drives to Eastern Washington to pick up produce direct from the farmers. Without a "middle man" he gets a good deal and he passes it on to his customers. This is my favorite place for buying the produce I don't grow myself. I did some checking and between Shelton and Olympia, Washington there are at least 6 more "Local Guy" stands, so I'm assuming that the same is true in many parts of the country ... do check out your local produce stand (I could kick myself ... I drove by this stand for 2 years before I stopped and found out what I had been missing!).
This is a what a "Yuppie Farmer's Market" looks like...
... a space at one of these costs a bundle and that cost is passed on to the consumer ... and no way did most of the vendors actually grow all (or any) of what they have for sale ...
This is what a "Non-Yuppie" local farmer's market looks like ...
... people you may know selling their produce, pastries and hand crafted artwork under "easy ups" on a blocked off section of a street where you live. Most cities have one, you just have to find it :)
Now that you've found a nice source for your veggies ... on to the recipe portion of our program ....
Our Ingredients:
On Prep Day:
Your choice of: Asparagus, Cauliflower or Broccoli
Onions
Leeks
Butter
Olive Oil
Garlic
Freshly ground pepper
Dried thyme, parsley and celery seed
On serving day:
Chicken Stock
Butter (optional)
Heavy Cream (optional)
I'm not going to give amounts since that will vary depending on the vegetable ... this isn't rocket science ... cook veggies, throw 'em in a bag, freeze, cook again , smoosh, eat ....
I used the leeks with the asparagus since they are a little more delicate in flavor than the onions and pair well with the light flavor of the asparagus. I sliced up a couple of leeks and one small onion and sauteed them in some butter and olive oil. I added some thyme, parsley, celery seed and pepper, stirred it around and set it aside.
I cut the asparagus into about 2" pieces and blanched it in boiling water ...
and then drained it well and bagged it up; about a cup of the leek/onion mixture with two cups of asparagus ...
For the broccoli and cauliflower I sauteed sliced onions and minced garlic with thyme, parsley,celery seed and pepper; blanched the broccoli and cauliflower and then bagged them up. And then I did one more batch with just the onions, garlic, thyme, parsley, celery seed and pepper...
After the bags were sealed I put them into a storage container ...
... and popped them into the freezer with the rest of my "Freezer to Wherever" meals ...
On serving day take out a package of frozen soup mix (in this case asparagus) ...
The butter and cream are optional. You can make a low fat version without them.
Put the veggies, a blob of butter and a pint of stock into a pot and cook on low until the veggies are thawed ...
Transfer it all into a blender or food processor and give a whirl or two to smoosh them up ...
Return to the pot, add some heavy cream if desired and heat until nice and warm without bringing to a boil ...
I served mine with croutons on top ...
I actually added very little butter (about a teaspoon) and maybe a quarter cup of cream, so it wasn't too bad fat wise ... and it was wonderful!
Just do the same with the broccoli and cauliflower bags. And what about those bags with just the onion and herb mix? Well, do you remember those
mushroom blobs we made a while back?
Put six or eight of these into the pot with the onion and herb mix and what do you have? ... Yes!
Cream of Mushroom Soup!
Ta Dah!
Enjoy!
An Update: I made the "Cream of Mushroom" version ... it's great! The frozen package plus 6 mushroom blobs and a pint of beef stock ... in a pot until it thaws ... into the blender, "whir", back into the pot. Add two more mushroom blobs so you have whole mushroom slices floating around. Add some cream (or not) ... Dish #1 was frozen meatballs + soup over egg noodles ... Tonight ... Tuna Noodle casserole ....
Both are available at most public libraries.