is this something I should have around my house?(soup stock)

lamplighter

Sat, Sep 30 2006, 8:48 pm

chicken stock/vegtable stock?
unless I'm mistaken for what this is....
do u have cups and cups of it around, a lot of recipes call for it,
what do u use in its stead?

Ambassador-to-KJ

Sat, Sep 30 2006, 8:52 pm

When I need chicken/ Vegetable Stock I make it with the soup mix.

shopaholic

Sat, Sep 30 2006, 9:05 pm

me too. Unless you feel like making a batch & freezing it in 1 cup servings but then you'd have to defrost it each time. If you don't have a microwave, you can do it on the stovetop.

withhumor

Sat, Sep 30 2006, 9:18 pm

I am in love with my real chicken stock! I use it to cook out rice, or to cook potatoes, this is endless! Also pasta and even a chicken dinner. I used to steal off some from every fresh soup that I made but recently I discovered that for cooking, it doesn’t matter if it’s from the leftovers from shabbos. So whatever is left over, motzei shabbos I freeze right away, instead of letting it sit in the fridge and dumping it.

Some recipes ideas:

Squash & rice side dish:
Sautee squash & onion until limp. Add rice & chicken soup (I cup rice, 2 cups soup) and cook until done. Salt & paper to taste. Try not to eat up the whole thing yourself.

Diet Cauliflower soufflé:
Preheat oven to 475. Sautee cauliflower and onion and mushroom or whatever you like. Add about ½ a cup of soup & 3 tbs. soy sauce. While it is cooking (it should be limp) mix 1 egg with about ¼ cup flour. Add to pot and mix well. Place the whole mixture into a shallow pan and top with flavored cornflake crumbs. Pop into the oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until the top is crispy. Try not to eat up the whole thing yourself.

mumsy23

Sat, Sep 30 2006, 9:19 pm

That sounds good with humor - I'm going to use that idea!

miriam

Sat, Sep 30 2006, 9:28 pm

If a recipe calls for soup stock, I just mix soy sauce with water and a bunch of spices and sometimes corn starch. Just stir it and add it.

Tefila

Sat, Sep 30 2006, 10:24 pm

Quote:

When I need chicken/ Vegetable Stock I make it with the soup mix.

Ditto
and Miriam great idea Thanks Smile

miriam

Sat, Sep 30 2006, 11:41 pm

I don't use the regular instant soup powder b/c of the MSG.

BeershevaBubby

Sun, Oct 01 2006, 12:27 am

From chilled melon, berry and peach soups in the spring and summer to hearty root vegetable, bean, poultry and beef soups in the fall and winter, it takes a lot to make a soup go wrong.

Unfortunately, many people tend to season out of the box, rather than out of the garden. Using off the shelf powders to add color and flavor is quick and easy and readily available. But not all that healthy. Added salt, MSG and who knows what...

Here are a few of my favorite herbs and aromatic root vegetables to use instead of the powders to add flavor and color (ok, it's mostly green) to most soups.

The ever popular dill, long stems with long, thin leaves. A very strong aromatic herb, chop it up fine and toss in.

Growing up, my mom would make a chicken vegetable soup and she'd add a bunch of something that was always classified as soup greens. What it really is, are the leaves and stems off the parsnip root, which is also a great addition for flavoring a soup. The leaves and stems aren't quite as flavorful as the dill, so you can use more of it. Again, chop it up and add to the soup. To use the parsnip root, peel and dice and toss in. Be careful though... if you're buying just the leaves, it looks a lot like flat-leaf parsley. If you smell the bunches, you can tell the difference, parsnip tops have a certain sharpness to it that's lacking in parsley. If you're not sure, grab a parsnip off the shelf and compare it to what they have in the fresh herb section.

Something that I discovered only a few years ago, is that the leafy celery tops also make a wonderful aromatic addition to a vegetable soup. Nowadays when I buy a bunched stalk of celery, I cut the tops right off and bag it for a soup. Like the other leafy herbs, it's chopped and dropped into the pot.

Related to the celery, is the celeriac or celery root. A knobby, round root with what looks like immature celery stalks growing from the top. This, like the parsnip, is peeled and diced. The top however should not be used as it is very bitter.

Another wonderful alternative to powders is to use a stock as the base of your soup. Unfortunately here, we can't buy the ready-made stuff, and while there are organic and natural stocks available commercially, they're really simple to make and store. And by making your own, you know exactly what's going into it.

Take a large pot. The largest you've got. Get carrots, potatoes, onions, zucchini, all the things I mentioned above, sweet potatoes or pumpkin even some cabbage and tomatoes would be good. Because this is stock, and you're going to be boiling the nutrients and vitamins out of the veggies and not actually saving the veggies, all but the celeriac, sweet potatoes/pumpkin should just be washed well. The celeriac and sweet potatoes/pumpkin should be peeled first. Then cut things into large pieces. Again, since we're not saving the veggies, they don't need to be neat, bite-sized pieces. The aromatic herbs don't need to be chopped. Just take part of the bunch, wash it and crush it in your hands. The crushing bruises the leaves and stems and will release the flavors. Add some cracked black pepper and just a pinch or two of salt. It doesn't need a lot because the flavors are going to concentrate. Cover it all with water, leaving about 3 inches from the top of the pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about two hours. If you're going to add a whole chicken to the stock, for a chicken stock (rather than a vegetarian stock), I would add an hour to the simmering time.

After the 2 or 3 hours, get another large pot and a strainer with a fine mesh (a colander with cheesecloth would also work). Put the strainer over the empty pot and pour the stock in. You can wait for the stock to cool, but you don't want it cool enough so that the fat from the chicken starts to congeal. With a funnel, pour the liquid into liter or half liter plastic soda bottles and freeze. When you need stock for soup, or for any number of poultry or beef recipes, you've got a handy amount ready. It defrosts quickly (or just cut it out of the bottle).

Another alternative is to peel all the vegetables (leave out any chicken or beef for this version), add water enough to cover and cook on a medium heat for about 2 hours, or until all the veggies are soft. Allow to cool and run the whole thing through a grinder or a blender. Pour into ziploc bags and freeze in blocks. It makes a wonderful base for vegetable or chicken soups and it's a great way to get your family members to 'eat' veggies they might not usually agree to.

There are a couple herbs I didn't mention, specifically basil and oregano. They're excellent herbs, but I've found they go best in tomato based soups such as minestrone and tomato soup.

Raisin

Sun, Oct 01 2006, 4:48 am

If you freeze the leftover chicken soup in plastic cups you will always have cups of stock ready. You can also use marmite.

mom3boys

Sun, Oct 01 2006, 6:05 am

miriam and kmelion Thumbs Up

Please, please ladies don't use those soup mixes
When I want a deeper flavour I sautee my onions, celery and carrots (which is the base of every soup)

DefyGravity

Sun, Oct 01 2006, 9:24 am

I use soup mix or buy chicken broth.

batya_d

Sun, Oct 01 2006, 10:16 am

DefyGravity wrote:

I use soup mix or buy chicken broth.

I also use my MSG-laden mix out of the box, although it is something I strive to change about my cooking.

shoy18

Sun, Oct 01 2006, 10:18 am

batya_d wrote:

DefyGravity wrote:

I use soup mix or buy chicken broth.

I also use my MSG-laden mix out of the box, although it is something I strive to change about my cooking.

I dont know where you live, but they sell in the grocery stores in brooklyn, an msg free pareve chicken broth, as well as all kinds of other soup. they come in a soy milk like container, Ill post the brand if anyone is intrested

batya_d

Sun, Oct 01 2006, 10:31 am

shoy18 wrote:

Yes please! I'd like to order some.

chen

Tue, Oct 03 2006, 8:53 am

I always keep on hand a few cans of plain chicken broth. very handy when someone has a cold, when my own soup has boiled off too much and won't be enough to go around, or when I need soup in a hurry. Of course I add my own vegetables and seasonings.

Most of the time when a recipe calls for soup stock I use water.

shabbatiscoming

Wed, Oct 04 2006, 7:15 am

I donth ave chicken stock in my home. the msg in it is terrible, but thats just my opinion. there are always other spices that you can put into something to give it a great taste as well, without the msg.

chocolate moose

Wed, Oct 04 2006, 10:12 am

We use filtered water. It's fine!