Maybe we should have a soup day on a Saturday or Sunday. I volunteer to add the goal “eat delicious soup” if it will help.

I made a few soups from scratch—but this was one of my favs and was pretty quick to make.

i’m not a very good cook (AT ALL!), but i can make very tasty soup. i don’t really follow recipes exactly – usually i find a recipe i like the idea of and then adjust it to fit my cravings.

i too like hearty but not-creamy based soups (got to watch the girlish figure, right?!) some things i’ve found that will fill out a skimpy soup recipe: beans, lentils, dumplings (!!!), potatoes, pasta, leftover meat bits… so say there’s a skimpy leek soup recipe – well, don’t be shy… just add potatoes, that leftover chicken or maybe a half cup of garbonzo beans.

and if i could only give one bit of advice, it is this: make your own stock! it is so easy and it makes soup taste amazing. in the winter i roast whole chickens and in the process i freeze the guts (still raw) and the bones after the chicken’s cooked. then when i make stock i put the guts and bones in a big pot of water. i’ll add a carrot or two, a leek or two, a yellow onion, salt, pepper and a bay leaf and anything else that strikes my fancy. just rinse the veggies and cut them roughly – no need to peel or slice, just get the dirt off. simmer on low heat for an hour or two . the veggies turn to mush… just strain out the liquid and you’ve got the most beautiful stock. if you’re not down with the roast chicken… you could proabably even just go to the butcher and buy a single chicken thigh or two and i bet that would work just as well.