Soup, Soup, Beautiful Soup!

Soup is quite simply food in a watery medium! All cultures have some type of soup within their cuisine - the variations are numerous and the possibility for creation limitless.

Macrobiotic cooking sees soup as strengthening the body's fluids as well as balancing for meat-centred diets. This is because the water of the soup helps to dilute and predigest proteins and fats in meat.

The successful formula to making soups:
It is important to remember that soups can be created from anything (nearly) and offers the perfect platform to play in the kitchen. Even when the cupboards are bare you can often find something to make into soup.

Just follow these easy steps:
Soups can be adapted to the season by changing the texture and cooking method. Hearty winter soups are rich, creamy and thick - cooked longer to generate heat in the colder months. Summer broths are opposite - light, cooling and cooked quickly. Soups are fortifying and are good for people who are convalescing - offering easily absorbable nutrients.
Also, medicinal vegetables and herbs can be added to help restore health.

• Flavour - onion & garlic saute - a good place to start
• Choose your main ingredient(s) - vegetables (Pumpkin, Broccoli, Carrot, Parsnip, Leek, grains, beans etc)
• Place ingredients into pot adding water (for stock) - amount dependent on how watery you want it
• Decide if you want the soup chunky or smooth - use handheld blender if you decide to go smooth. Tip - allow it to cool a little so as not to melt blender
• To make thicker - purred vegetables will make it thicker, but can also use flours, arrowroot, oatmeal, amaranth or chia seeds
• Season - choose from fresh miso, sea salt, seaweeds, ginger, herbs
• Garnish - choose from spring onions, parsley, toasted nuts, croutons, sprouts, crunchy seed mix

For soup inspiration go to http://www.101cookbooks.com/soups/ the wonderful whole food goddess Heidi Swanson has many mouth watering soups on her blog, (honestly you will not need to go anywhere else). Try from ginger coconut milk, green pea and mixed mushroom soup, and her gorgeous photography will not fail to get you in the soup mood!