A couple of days ago I was talking about the differences in culinary terms in various regions and between countries. The term chuck is often used in the US to describe a cut of beef from the shoulder and neck region of the cow. It is not a widely used term in Canada. Since we live in Canada and our vacation home is in the US, I have found The Cook's Thesaurus to be extremely useful.
Making homemade soup is about as easy as you can, not even needing an actual recipe. The basic requirements are a good sized bone with or without meat, bayleaf, vegetables of choice, and optional rice or noodles. Any bone that has been roasted or grilled gives a deeper, richer flavour to the stock. I put the bone with meat in a large pot then filled about three quarters full with water. I added a bay leaf and brought to a boil. At this point I usually add one unpeeled carrot, one unpeeled onion (quartered) and one stalk of celery. These add flavour and colour to the stock. They are removed along with the bone before completing the soup. I let simmer about 30 minutes then removed the bone and vegetables, then cut the meat from the bone. I added the bone and cubed meat back to the stock then stirred in 3 sliced small carrots, a half onion (chopped) and one medium potato (cubed). I brought this to just a boil and let simmer until the vegetables were tender then stirred in a half a tomato cubed, cooking five minutes longer. I added about 2 cups of water, removed the bone and brought the soup to a low boil then stirred in about a cup and a half of broad egg noodles. I reduced the heat to a high simmer and continued cooking until the noodles were al dente. I garnished with sliced green onion for serving. The yield was enough for two adults for two lunches.
This particular soup was a bit heavier on the onions for a reason. Quite frankly I should have added a bit more. Both of us have been sick with some type of cold that seems to be affecting mainly the chest and throat, with little nasal congestion. Onions have natural antibiotic properties. They are one of the best foods you can eat if you have a cold or flu. Be sure to include them with every meal if at all possible either raw or cooked when you have a cold or flu.
3 food lovers commented:
I've been doing a lot of home made soups, too. Well, playing at it, haha. And for the most part, they have all turned out really well.
I did not know that about onions. Thanks!
On to my questions now. Do you use bay leaf for chicken or turkey soup, too? I have no schooling in herbs or spices, other than salt, pepper, or cayenne pepper (well, pumpkin pie spices, haha). Most things I don't use.
Also, why do you leave the peel on the onion? I can see the carrot. Is the reasoning the same for the onion? Though I guess since you strain out the first veggies the reason is not really important.
I tend to make larger batches of broth/soup so I make my noodles or rice separate. I left the noodles in one time and the next day the soup was jellied noodles. Ugh!
Thanks again!
Hi Linda :)
I use a bay leaf in beef, turkey and chicken stocks. It rounds out the flavour of the stock without over powering it.
The peel on the onion adds natural light amber colouring while adding flavour. This is most noticeable in chicken and turkey stocks. As an aside, you can boil onion skins for a yellow dye for naturally colouring Easter eggs, wool and cotton.
Noodles do have a tendency to soften if the soup is stored. One trick is to under cook the noodles but cooking them separately works well too.
Take care and Happy Holidays,
Oh interesting. I may have to give that a try sometime, the home made egg color. I didn't know that either. :)
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