Note to self: write it down ...

My pressure cooker is no longer in use, and I am still looking for one to replace it - a Prestige that I got as a wedding present. But the Recipe book is brilliant and I still use the lentil soup recipe as a basis for making lentil soup.

I wouldn't bother writing down any ingredients, imperfect. It's going to turn out different every time anyway, and you may not have the same ingredients to hand another time. And next time it might be even better, so you'll want to write that one down as well! And so it goes on!

Favourite soup at the moment is Habitant . It's a Canadian soup with yellow split peas. I have a folder of soup recipes and will add some of these. Another favourite is a weightwatchers vegetable soup which is always made for late night arrivals from abroad. Don't know why.

Cheerytrees59. I have the Morphy Richards soup maker with a saute function. Not used the sauté function yet though. Will also make smoothies. Cost £50 on line

I always use my pressure cooker for soups. Favourite at the moment is pea and mint, followed by spicy butternut squash.

Still prefer to make my soup in my thirty year old pressure cooker.

Found this recipe in a Greek cookery book, since lost, but this survived.

Greek Bean Soup

2 cans of Heinz beans, 2 large diced carrots, 1 large diced onion, 1 cup celery leaves + stalks, half a head of crushed garlic, 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp. dried mint, 1 cup chopped parsley, half cup olive oil, basil, oregano etc., 2 small cans tomato paste, salt, pepper, chicken stock, and some marrow bones (not essential).

In a large saucepan, sauté onions, carrots, parsley, celery, garlic and herbs in olive oil till golden brown. Add tomato paste and beans, stir well. Add the stock to cover three -quarters way up the pan. Add bones, and bring to boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the vegetables are soft.

Mischief. Have you got recipe for your butternut squash and cumin soup.

Red pepper, lentil and vegetable soup.

Very simple.

Sauté onions, carrots and chopped celery and sliced leek for 10 mins.
Add chopped red peppers for another five minutes
Then add vegetable stock, tinned tomatoes and a approx 220grams of red lentils. Season and bring to boil, then simmer for around half an hour.

I sometimes eat it chunky and then blitz the rest in my nutribullet for a smoother soup. Must try some different recipes now as always tend to make this.

I got my soupmaker by default. MIL bought one and decided it was too complicated and electronic for her. So now I have it and am enjoying it, and believe me it is not complicated - press 2 buttons and you have soup!

We have the Cuisinart soup maker which is excellent ... I'm quite sure other cheaper makes are good too since it's essentially just a blender with a heating element! I used it all the time when I was working and the husband was still in Denmark. Less so now as his (Danish) idea of soup is very different from mine. Still useful for a quick lentil and bacon, or potato and leek since it whizzes them too. ?

I haven't space for a soup maker. A large pan and hand held blitzer works just fine. Our favourite soup at the moment is courgette and cucumber. Largely what's left in the veg rack plus a dollop of white wine reduced with the onions. Yum

I've had my soup maker for over a year now and I love it. I got it from The Range, Salter is the make. Think they are £36 now.

My favourite soup is Butternut Squash and Cumin. The flavour is delicious and I make it even better by putting a dollop of Soured Cream in the bottom before pouring the hot soup into the bowl and you get that lovely spriral of white as you stir it through. The taste is divine too. Yum

I have a Tefal soup maker and can recommend it,also Morphy richards which a friend has.

I always made soup in a saucepan - quite successfully. DS bought me a soup maker for Christmas a couple of years ago and I actually find it more of a faf than the saucepan etc. Just a few months in it stopped working and I had to chase up a guarantee. Eventually I got it replaced but the new one leaks and I can't be a***d to go through the rigmarole of getting them to agree the guarantee again and pack it up to post it off.

I made a "leftovers" soup the other day using all the cooked veg left from a Sunday roast. Cauliflower and broccoli cheese, carrots, mashed swede, cabbage, roast potatoes and parsnips and sprouts. I chucked it all into a large saucepan covered it with a stock made from Marigold stock powder brought it to the boil and simmered for about 15 minutes then liquidised it in the pan with a stick blender. Wasn't expecting anything great, just didn't want to waste all that veg. In fact it was delicious, and very filling.

Our new favourite soup is this one from the New York Times cooking site which is a good source of new ideas in general. In case the link doesn't work, their full recipe is below, with a couple of my notes in brackets. It's worth the longish list of ingredients and really tasty.
cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016062-red-lentil-soup-with-lemon

3 tablespoons olive oil, more for drizzling
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste (NYT always specifies kosher salt, which seems to be coarse grained, a bit less ordinary salt works well.)
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Pinch of ground chile powder or cayenne, more to taste (we like more)
1 quart chicken or vegetable broth (I use cubes)
2 cups water
1 cup red lentils
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
Juice of 1/2 lemon, more to taste
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (coriander)

In a large pot, heat 3 tablespoons oil over high heat until hot and shimmering. Add onion and garlic, and sauté until golden, about 4 minutes.
Stir in tomato paste, cumin, salt, black pepper and chili powder or cayenne, and sauté for 2 minutes longer.
Add broth, 2 cups water, lentils and carrot. Bring to a simmer, then partially cover pot and turn heat to medium-low. Simmer until lentils are soft, about 30 minutes. Taste and add salt if necessary.
Using an immersion or regular blender or a food processor, purée half the soup then add it back to pot. Soup should be somewhat chunky.

Cauliflower purée instead of pea seems to be the new thing served with scallops and bacon in restaurants. Delicious

Jerusalem artichoke and carrot - it's a Delia
French Onion - Julia Childs Mastering the Art of French Cooking
Mother in Laws Mushroom - secret!
Roasted Tomato and Basil - another Delia

Can anyone recommend a make and type of soup maker?
It seems quite a few GNetters have bought one since the soup maker thread

I was given a book on Depression when my DD was suffering through a real black dog one, and got this recipe out of that book. During the dark, wet winter months I always make some for her. It cheers her up enormously and everyone I know has the recipe and loves it! Easy peasy too!

Large onion well chopped
4 garlic cloves well chopped
2 large sticks of celery well chopped
Tin of chopped tomatoes
Tin of Cannellioni beans
Good squirt of tomatoe puree
Good sprinkling of Italian herbs
Optional tsp of chilli flakes
Pint of vegetable stock (I use 2 cubes)
S & P to taste.

Saute onions in a medium sized saucepan in a little oil and when transparent, add garlic and celery and continue cooking for about 8 mins. Add tomatoes and drained beans and stir in, gthen add puree and seasoning. Add the stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 1/2 hr covered.

You can also add any left over veg and even chopped chicken, ham etc.

ENJOY!

Gadget mad DH bought me what I thought would be something else to sit along side other impulse kitchen purchases. Soupmaker fab! would not be without it now, we love our soups and it is so quick and easy to use.

mumofmadboys I've made lentil soup in the soup maker too, but with red lentils which don't need as much time to soften. The green lentils I've got in the cupboard require 40 minutes cooking time, according to the instructions on the packet. I don't have any brown lentils at the moment, but I have a feeling they need even longer - might be wrong there.

I too bought my soup maker after reading the thread in about October. I am really pleased with it and use it a couple of times a week at least.

Spicy Butternut Squash. Made a batch yesterday. I can now get meaty bones from local supermarket to make stock so it is a real treat to have a good stock base for soup making. I find it very therapeutic too.
save the rind from Parmesan cheese to put in too which gives it a lovely tangy flavour.
Yum- roll on lunchtime!