My dear cooking-type people:
Today I am going to share with you a lovely little Cream of Whateveryouhaveinyourfridge Soup. It's quick. It's easy. It freezes well. There's no reason you shouldn't eat this everyday for a year.
I like to take Cream of Whateveryouhaveinyourfridge Soup to new mothers. They can pop it in their freezer (as mentioned above) and take it out two weeks later, when all the food from their lovely neighbors has petered away and they're still too tired to cook for the family.
This is also a change-up soup. You can add pretty much anything you want to it and it is delish. So. Ready? Set? Cook!
Cream of BlahBlah Soup (We'll pretend it's broccoli this time)
1 bunch broccoli (or cauliflower, or broccoflower, or potatoes, onions, corn, clams, celery, cooked chicken, cooked bacon, bubblegum, grapes, peanut butter) (Maybe not the last three)
3 chicken bouillon cubes (I learned as a child that the little silver-wrapped cubes in mom's cupboard were not caramels. And no matter how many times I tried them, they did not turn into caramels.)
2 bay leaves (Julius Caesar wore a wreath of these on his head. They are also called Laurels. Apparently he often rested on them. Which makes you wonder about him wearing them on his head . . . )
1 quart half and half (Yeah, I know. Death in a bowl. I use skim milk, because that cancels out the butter later on. Still tastes great. But you do what you want. We won't judge you.)
Milk to thin (Milk is always too thin.)
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup butter (And I mean it! Butter, people! There is no such thing as margarine.)
1. Chop Broccoli (or cauliflower, or broccoflower, or potatoes, etc.)
2. Cover with 3 cups of water. Add bouillon cubes (not caramels) and bay leaves. Cook until veggies are tender.
3. Meanwhile, melt butter; add flour, and stir to mix. Add milk. Or, alternatively, if you don't care about your arteries, add half and half. Cook, stirring until thickened and bubbly.
4. Stir sauce into veggies (or whatever you have in your fridge that you just cooked) and water. Thin with more milk if you want. Heat through. Remove bay leaves. Take Caesar out too. He doesn't taste good with the soup.
That's it. Easy peasy, yeah?
Epic And Slightly Blurry Cooking Pictures!
Lovely broccoflower, potatoes, and onions. They were in the fridge.
Veggies, bouillon, and Julius Caesar, coming to a boil. Through a steamed up lens.
Need I say more? (I was doubling the recipe which is why there's so much butter in this pot. Also I just love butter. It is from butter whence all good recipes spring. And If I hear you're using margarine or some other vile butter substitute, I am coming right through your IP address and taking away your license to cook. I've said this before.)
Flour and pepper. This recipe doesn't call for salt, though you might want to add some. But taste it first. I adore freshly ground pepper. Especially if it comes in a cute little bottle with different colored peppercorns and claims to be from somewhere exotic, like the Kerguelen Islands. If so, I add a ton. If there's no such thing as the Kerguelen Islands, I add even more.
The golden gorgeousness of butter and flour, melted together.
Milk or half and half added. I used milk, like I said. Because, Half of what and half of what, I'd like to know. Half a quart of ice cream and half a pound of circus peanuts? Someone needs to tell me, because I don't trust the stuff.
Big bloopy bubbles of thickening sauce-ness.
Sauce stirred into veggies, turned into soup. And this picture does nothing like justice to this delicious and comforting soup. You're just going to have to make it and find out for yourself. While I contemplate getting an actual camera to take these photos with. I serve homemade drop biscuits with this soup. Fabu.
The end. Cook yer little hearts out, my children.
🙂
I now use Fat Free evaporated milk. It has a richer taste than skim milk, healthier than half and half.
Janiel, I must've given you the idea that those boullion cubes were caramels. Because I tried that in El Paso, when you were born and was exceedingly disappointed, time and again. I was just going to make a very similar concotion today, so I already have the 1/2 of whatever 1/2. I'll let you know how it turns out. You are so funny!
Cathy, that's a great idea! I'll try that next time.
Kris, all I know is that it isn't fair to children to wrap things in pretty shiny foil and have them turn out to be bouillon cubes.
Well, do let me know how your concoction turns out! Thanks. 🙂
By the way, I was doubling this recipe when I took the pictures, which is why there's an entire cow's-worth of butter in that pot.