Soups

Hearty soups which are smooth, or full of nice chunky vegetables, are a meal in themselves. With fresh bread and perhaps cheese, they are all you need to last you through the day. Some fresh fruit for afters and it makes a nutritious, balanced lunch. Make a pan full and, if the family don't get there first, it might last a few days.

Sweetcorn and Bacon Soup

• 3oz Bacon (fat removed), diced
• 1 Onion
• 1 Garlic Clove (optional)
• 1 Carrot, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 Celery Sticks, finely chopped
• 2 1/2 pints of Chicken Stock (use cubes if you like)
• 2 Large Potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 12oz can of Sweetcorn Kernels (drained)
• 1/2oz Fat (try to use Flora or Sunflower Oil)
• Salt, Black Pepper, Parsley, chopped

Melt fat in large pan, add bacon and lightly fry. Set aside. Lightly fry onion and garlic, add carrot and celery, then cook for one minute. Add stock, potatoes and two thirds of the sweetcorn, then season. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are soft. Blend in a blender, food processor, or sieve, add bacon, parsley and rest of sweetcorn. Reheat carefully.

If you want to make a basic, easy blended vegetable soup, use the next recipe, using any vegetable.

Vegetable Soup

• 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 pints of Stock
• 2 Potatoes, sliced or chopped
• 1 Large Onion, chopped
• 1lb Vegetables of your choice, chopped
• Herbs (own choice)
• Salt, Pepper

Simmer vegetables until tender and then blend. You can add a little skimmed milk, if you like, and the chopped herbs of your choice. Basil is a lovely herb for lots of soups and you can get a pot of fresh green sweet basil from most supermarkets - you only need one or two leaves, chopped. Most herbs are best cooked in the soup, but parsley is often just stirred in at the time of serving. Some soups, like leek or potato, need no herbs at all. Experiment!

Some examples are given below to use with the basic recipe:

• Mushroom and walnut (1oz chopped plus pinch of grated nutmeg)
• Leek with no extra herbs
• Leek and Potato (use the green leaves of the leeks)
• Spinach (plus pinch of grated nutmeg)
• Carrot and Coriander (1 1/2 teaspoons of ground coriander)
• Curried Parsnips (2 teaspoons of curry powder plus 2 bayleaves)
• Cream of Cauliflower ( 1 teaspoon of chervil or parsley plus skimmed milk to taste)
• 6oz Red Lentils, 1 Large Carrot, 2 Celery Sticks (this needs much longer to cook than vegetables. Lentils, which contain iron and are very nutritious, mused be cooked until tender. Use herbs of your own choice.)

Experiment, especially with the herbs, they can make or break a soup. We all need to eat plenty of fresh vegetables and if you don't like cooked spinach with your dinner, you'll be surprised what a nice soup it makes.

Last Resort Soup

If you are too tired, open a tin!