I've been making soup like crazy this fall/early winter. It's such an inexpensive way to make a big batch of food that will last for a long time. It's also very comforting in this New England clime, and it's nice to share with people who have caught the nasty cold that's making its way around these parts.
I've made a pledge not to throw food out, so as soon as some of my veggies start to look a little glum, I cook 'em up into a soup and add some of the split peas or dried beans (have to soak those overnight and then boil them up a bit first) for a hearty, protein rich batch of soup.
I'm a vegetarian, and I don't use bullion cubes, so to start all of my soups, I sautee onions and garlic in olive oil and butter in the bottom of my heavy cast-iron/enamel soup pot. When they're cooked up, I add dried herbs (my favorite combo is lots of thyme and oregano), and whatever other veggies I'm throwing in. When they've all been tossed in the oil and water, I cover the whole thing with water and bring it to a simmer, then throw in the dried split peas or reconstituted beans. I often roast a squash in the oven and then put it in the soup (has a really nice deep flavor when roasted).
Here in southern New England, we have lots of discount fruit and veg stands -- I stop into one near the dairy where I buy my farm fresh milk, and get a good week or two's worth of fruit and veggies for about $12.00 -- $15.00. Much of the produce is local, and some of it is a little banged up, but it's very good and about half the price of the supermarkets.
I made a batch of soup yesterday with onions, garlic, oregano and thyme, carrots (don't peel them, put them in whole), potatoes, roasted butternut squash, split green peas, and chickpeas -- it probably cost about $3.00 (plus the gas to cook it for about an hour), and I'll get four or five servings this week, plus another four or five at some later date, because I always freeze or give away half of each batch.
A delicious, and deliciously frugal meal.
