Clearing the Fridge Soup

Sometimes one just needs to clear out the fridge. No need to waste that good produce that you bought--if you have odds and ends left, make soup. Most any vegetable will go into a soup. And most any herb or spice will as well. The key is not to over-do it on the spices and/or herbs. Keep it to about four or less. Then the flavors of the vegetables and the chosen broth will blend and not fuss with the flavors of the chosen herbs and/or spices.

The other day I found myself at the end of several vegetables from my previous shopping a week previous. So, into the pot went some zucchini (leave the peel on), some cabbage, a couple of carrots, a celery stalk, an onion, and a few button mushrooms--all diced to various sizes (keep the sizes uniform to the texture for even cooking times). I had about a 1/2 can of diced tomatoes in the fridge, so I threw these in as well. To this I added three cans of beef broth (no meat this time). I didn't add any salt at the beginning; I wanted to see what the beef broth would do--the soup never needed any additional salt (and we like salt). Finally, I tossed in about 1/4 cup of slow-cook rice. Put all this to simmering on medium low heat and leave it alone to do its thing. Once it's been cooking for about 20 minutes, add in your chosen herbs and/or spices. We really like different flavors, but this time, I liked the flavor that was evolving, so I added nothing.

The soup held its texture very well as it cooked; we didn't eat it for about 3 hours after I started it and it wasn't mushy at all. It's a good hearty soup for these cooler nights we're having.

So...next time the fridge needs clearing. pull out the soup pot and have at it!