The quick answer: A warm bowl of soup makes a perfect winter dish. It’s also healthy, tasty, economical, and filling (plus low in calories). To master home style cooking, soups are the place to start.
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I spent two and a half years in Central America as a young man, living with humble people and eating their food. It was a seminal experience, one that influenced my life. I didn’t fully appreciate the wisdom of their diet at the time, but it was affordable, minimally processed, and mostly local. I still remember the first soup I ate—homemade chicken vegetable. It stands out because I discovered the chicken’s foot in my bowl. I thought my Mom was a frugal cook, but these people were world-class in waste reduction. Water-based soups were a regular part of lunch and even dinner. I regret that it never occurred to me to collect a few recipes
Canned Soup
Later, the soup most familiar to me was Campbell’s. The Campbell soup can, artfully copied by Andy Warhol, is an American icon. The Napoleonic Wars caused the invention of canned food in the early 1800s. There was a double benefit to the can: It fit the needs of wartime eating, plus in-can cooking sterilized the food, eliminating spoilage. Indeed, consumption of canned foods (like smoking and other bad habits) increases during wartime. The Campbell Soup Company got its start following the Civil War based on one improvement—their condensed soup cut shipping costs. The user could add water or milk when the soup was heated, which at least gave the appearance of cooking.
Health complaints against Campbell’s soups include the sodium content (lowered for a time, but later increased when sales continued to drop). Campbell soups played a role in the rise and fall of casserole dishes, I believe. In the post-WWII emphasis on convenience, casseroles rose in popularity as a single-dish meal. Recipes often included a can of Campbell’s soup. Unfortunately, taste and wholesomeness were lesser considerations and there is a generation now who distain casseroles. This is unfortunate as casseroles have a place in traditional cooking—think of ratatouille. We should have a post on tasty and healthy casserole recipes.
Soup Basics
Cooks everywhere are rediscovering soup. Soups are filling but low in calories. Soups are not only good for you—they’re the best value around. Soups take time to prepare but a pot lasts several meals and improves with age. You can even freeze some in a quart jar for emergencies. Traditional soups are built around five ingredient groups:
- Stock—the main source of liquid. Usually made from bones, it can also be made from vegetables. We make most of ours from the carcass of a roast chicken. (Stock is an old tradition but in the ‘60s stock was replaced with bullion cubes dissolved in water. Today it’s sold in the store as “broth” but there’s nothing quite like homemade stock for flavor.)
- Mirepoix—the savory combination of chopped carrots, celery, and onions. There are other combinations, depending on what’s at hand, but this is the standard.
- Flavor—the trio of bay leaf, thyme, and parsley and sometimes garlic occur in most recipes.
- Starch—often legumes, but potatoes and (whole wheat) pasta work also.
- Meat—a little meat adds flavor to the soup and gives you something to chew on. This is the essence of “sparing” meat intake and a good way to use the odds and ends that might get wasted.
Skip Shamelessly Puts His Name on Ancient Recipes
I love to restore recipes to their original, more healthful form. I’ve done this with the following soup recipes—try them and see how good, and nutritions, soup is in the winter:
Skip’s Potato Onion Soup Recipe
Skip’s Chicken & Rice Soup Recipe
Skip’s Split Pea Soup (with ham bone)
Please comment: Share any favorite food blogs that follow the criteria noted above (Healthiness, Value, Simplicity, and Taste). Contribute your favorite soup recipe.