{"id":559,"date":"2007-12-05T05:24:39","date_gmt":"2007-12-05T10:24:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/horizonsmagazine.com\/blog\/?p=559"},"modified":"2021-01-25T20:18:37","modified_gmt":"2021-01-26T01:18:37","slug":"im-a-soup-freak-what-i-keep-on-hand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/horizonsmagazine.com\/blog\/im-a-soup-freak-what-i-keep-on-hand\/","title":{"rendered":"I’m a Soup Freak; what I keep on hand for them"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m not someone who spends a lot of time in the kitchen. Maybe because I worked from home for so long that I got in the habit of eating most of my meals out. I have a handful of favorite dishes I cook for myself and for friends and one of my favorite things to cook is soup.\u00a0 Sometimes I’m just looking in the fridge at the leftovers. Sometimes I do this in a structured manner, like deciding on split pea soup and buying just those ingredients, but most often I find myself in the store looking at a juicy stalk of fennel next to a fat leek and the ideas start to flow. If I have no direction in mind, I can just let the fresh vegetables of the day direct me.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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I love all kinds of soups. I love thick, chunky stews and I love a simple, delicate broth. I like leafy kale soups and hearty root vegetable soups.<\/span><\/p>\n

In my past incarnation (in this lifetime), I was a heavy meat eater. Sausage and ham hocks were the first ingredients into every soup! As I turned more health conscious at the turn of the new millennium, I embarked on a mission to discover food alternatives with massive flavor and minimum fat, and big hunks of meat no longer appealed to me.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now if I want meaty flavor, I’ll add smoked turkey or fish sauce. Yeh, fish sauce sounds gross if you’re not used it it, like anchovy paste, but it imparts a wonderful, deep umami flavor (which is what that luscious mouth feel of a ham hock is.)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There are a few standard ingredients I always keep on hand. My vegetarian friends won\u2019t like this part\u2026<\/span><\/h3>\n

Low sodium chicken broth in the box
\nBetter Than Bouillion roasted chicken soup base<\/span>
\n3 Crabs brand fish sauce (nuoc mam)<\/span>
\nFrozen bay scallops<\/span>
\nFrozen shrimps in the shell
\nFrozen firm fleshed white fish<\/span><\/p>\n

My pantry always includes:<\/span><\/h2>\n

Canned tomatoes, large and small cans<\/span>
\nCanned crushed tomatoes<\/span>
\nCanned stewed tomatoes<\/span><\/p>\n

I always have on hand:<\/span><\/h2>\n

Fresh onions: white, red and Vidalia<\/span>
\nFresh garlic in bulbs<\/span>
\nA few sweet potatoes<\/span>
\nA few white potatoes, or Yukon Gold for flavor<\/span>
\nCarrots<\/span>
\nCelery<\/span>
\nScallions
\nFresh Roma tomatoes (sometimes I can grow them)<\/span>
\nFresh basil and rosemary. I eat a lot of fresh basil and rosemary.<\/span><\/p>\n

Vegetables I may also include in a soup if I see them fresh are:<\/span><\/h2>\n

Parsnips<\/span>
\nFennel<\/span>
\nLeeks<\/span>
\nPeppers: red, yellow and poblano<\/span>
\nFresh English peas!<\/span>
\nAsparagus<\/span>
\nMushrooms<\/span><\/p>\n

Favorite dried spices include:<\/span><\/h2>\n

Sea salt finely ground<\/span>
\nCoarse ground black pepper<\/span>
\nGarlic powder<\/span>
\nTarragon<\/span>
\nThyme
\nBasil
\nCumin<\/span>
\nPaprika<\/span>
\nCoriander
\nCinnamon<\/span>
\nCayenne pepper<\/span>
\nOregano<\/span>
\nFennel<\/span>
\nBay leaves<\/span>
\nTurmeric<\/span>
\nCinnamon, powder and in sticks<\/span><\/p>\n

Favorite dried beans I keep on hand include:<\/span><\/h2>\n

Pinto beans<\/span>
\nSplit peas<\/span>
\nWhite navy beans<\/span>
\nRed kidney beans<\/span>
\nGarbanzos<\/span>
\nButter beans<\/span><\/p>\n

AND HERE ARE ITEMS I KEEP ON HAND FOR QUICK ASIAN RECIPES<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

ITEMS TO BUY AT AN ASIAN MARKET<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0Keep these items on hand and by the time you read the recipes about them a few times, you\u2019ll feel adventuresome enough to make the delicious, classic tom yum soup<\/a>.\u00a0 Here’s a link to another fave Asian inspired soup<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Stalks of lemon grass.<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0They may be fresh and may be in the freezer and will be wrapped like scallions. They give high lemon flavor as a soup or tea base, and you remove them before eating as they are coarse and woody.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kaffir lime leaves<\/strong>. \u00a0<\/span>These will be in the freezer maybe 25-50 to a bag. They give high lemon flavor as a soup or tea base, and you remove them before eating.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gangalal.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0This is a form of ginger. It will be in the freezer in a small tray, probably already cut into small pieces. They give sharp ginger flavor as a soup or tea base, and you remove them before eating.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chilies or chili peppers.<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0\u00a0These will be in the freezer in small bags. Most of them are too hot for me; you have to find your own comfort level. I sometimes pop a whole chili in a soup and then take it out and discard it. I do not cut it open. That gives enough heat for me. Remember the high heat is in the seeds, so after handling them wash your hands.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fish sauce nuoc mam<\/strong>.<\/span> \u00a0\u00a0I use the 3 Crabs brand. A little goes a long way. High flavor, smells hmmm fishy<\/span><\/p>\n

Chili garlic sauce.<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0in a jar on the shelf.\u00a0It is hotter than Sriracha sauce.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Sriracha hot sauce.<\/strong><\/span> In a tall bottle on the shelf,\u00a0 has a red rooster on the bottle.\u00a0It is milder than chili garlic sauce.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Nam Prik Pao or\u00a0<\/strong>Tom Yum Soup paste<\/strong>.<\/span>\u00a0 In jars on the shelf. Try different brands.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sesame Oil<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/span> \u00a0Usually not cooked, but added into hot soups and dressings before serving.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bunches of fresh basil or cilantro<\/strong>.<\/span> Rinse before last minute adding to soups. I don’t care for cilantro myself, but love sweet basil, holy basil, Thai basil, lemon basil.<\/span><\/p>\n

Scallions<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0find them in the refrigerator. Rinse before last minute adding to soups.<\/span><\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> Visit<\/span> Goddess Grub<\/a>, Luscious Low Fat Meals for the Goddess on the Go<\/span><\/p>\n

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