A Lack of Soup

Sadly, my December first had a distinct lack of soup. However, if I had not been running around doing errands at odd intervals, I would have made soup.

I'm sure some of you still have a turkey carcass sitting in your fridge, with really not enough meat to make a sandwich. Have I got a solution for you. Turkey Soup.

Take that turkey carcass and chop it into more manageable pieces (halves, quarters, you get the point). Dump those puppies in a pot of water (any size you want, depending on how much soup you want to end up with). Boil that sucker for an hour or so. Then turn off the heat and let it cool down a little. When it's cool enough scrap off as much of the left over meat off the bones as possible. Throw out the bones, give the broth a stir and put the whole thing in the fridge.

Let that sit in the fridge for a day, or until the fat has solidified on the top into a gross white layer. Scoop that layer off and throw it away. It's gross. You don't want to eat it.

Now that you've de-gross-ified your broth pop that pot back on the stove and start bringing it back to a simmer. While that's doing its thing. Start chopping up the other stuff you want to put in that soup.

My recommendation for soup contents (in the most random order possible):
- carrots
- sweet frozen corn
- white onions
- scallions
- thyme
- rosemary
- oregano
- frozen peas
- rice or barley
- potato (although I'm aware that some people feel cheated by potatoes in soup)
- broccoli

Now chop up that onion and that scallion and saute them together in butter. Yes, butter, lots of butter. Throw some oregano into that saute pan (or frying pan if you don't have fancy pans). Pour the whole thing - yes all that melted butter - into the broth. Give the broth a stir.

Chop up your carrots and potatoes and put those into the broth. Add in the rosemary and thyme or whatever herbs you fancy. Let that simmer for about an hour. Or until the carrots and potatoes are just about soft.

Now put in the broccoli and rice or barley. Let that continue cooking for about 2o minutes or so.

About 15 minutes before you're going to serve it put in the frozen peas and sweet corn. You want to keep them fresh. That's the reason you don't put everything in the pot at the same time. Particularly the rice or barley, which can get way too over cooked and just melt into the broth and do horrible things to your soup.

When you put in the peas and corn, taste the soup. Actually taste it all along the way. But if the soup doesn't taste "finished" or like "something's missing" you have two options. 1) chop some bacon into small pieces and fry it in lots of butter, the pour it all into the soup. 2) or just put in a chunk of butter. Yes, seriously, just add some butter. Give it a stir. Let simmer a little longer and serve.

Serve in a bowl - cause it's soup moron - with perhaps some croutons on top, or some cheese and croutons. It depends on what you like.

Best wishes. Hope your Dec 1 was filled with more soup than mine.