When I am bored . . . I make soup

Thursday 8am

Soup is surely the ultimate food. From the poorest of the poor standing in the street beside a soup kitchen to the richest of the rich at a posh dinner party we can all eat soup. Be it a hot mediterranean summers day or a cold wet scottish autumn one, there is a soup that is just right. It will match your mood - comforting and warm or spicy and exotic, full of unknown promise like a first date. Feeling alone and miserable ? just cuddle up to a bowl of soup in front of the fire, watch the telly, and stuff the world out there. Or have friends round for lunch and do like Nigel Slater ( see my favourite books ) and put a panfull of soup on the table surrounded by bread, cheese and beer and let everybody help themselves. In a hurry ? Make it instantly from a packet, all glutinous and strange plasticky vegetables. Or take your time like I will today and make a big pan full of velvety pumpkin soup for the family tonight. It will bubble away quietly while I get on with other things and if anybody is late, no worries, it only gets better whilst sitting keeping warm. Forgiveness - a quality we could all use more of. I usually make vegetable soups, they are quick - twenty minutes prepare, half an hour to cook at the most - and there is usually something in the bottom of the fridge to inspire me. Open any soup cookbook and the first thing they say is make your own stock. But I don't. I think for everyday cooking it is not neccessary, I use an organic vegetable stock powder ( Rapunzel I think ) but always make it half strength so it does not overpower my ingredients. Anyway stock is boiled vegetables and soup is boiled vegetables so I miss out the middleman and get to the eating quicker ! If we have roast chicken on Sunday I will make chicken stock ( the easiest stock to make ) and the soup will then be plainer and simpler to make the most of the flavour of the stock. I also have a pretty basic recipe ( carrot and almond soup by Nadine Abensur ) that works for me and alter it as I feel, one of my current favourite ingerdients are nuts. Carrot and walnut soup, made with some walnuts given to us by Kerrian and Ian is delicious and reflects the autumn outside.

But today it will be basic pumpkin and tomato as below along with a flat bread with walnuts on top that I will make, and some crumbly feta to drop in. And if there is any left I will freeze it in yoghurt pots so it does not leak and take it to work for my lunch tomorrow.

(pic by Nicola, thanks again)