Harvest Soups

Unlike store-bought or takeout foods, the best part about homemade anything is knowing exactly what goes into your food and what’s left out. Home cooking is the way to create meals tailored to your family’s needs. Hit the farmers’ market, load up on fresh harvest veggies, and then get your soup on—your way!

Make it vegetarian, low sodium, dairy free, lower fat, or gluten free. By cooking, you control what you eat.

Since seasonal veggies are at their prime, they really don’t need a lot of seasoning to butter up their natural deliciousness. However, a little spice does ramp up flavour and reduce the need for adding extra sodium. Make it a rule of thumb to always taste before adding salt, and season after cooking, not during.

Eating seasonally is the cornerstone of good health. When produce is picked at its peak, it usually has more vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants than food harvested before ripeness and then shipped long distances. Eating seasonally also means enjoying locally grown foods, which benefits local farmers, community, and the environment, too.

Turning all that harvest bounty into a big pot of soup is less time consuming than you might think. Slash prep time by rounding up kitchen “volunteers” to help wash, peel, and chop. Or, better yet, let the food processor or blender be your BFF.

After prepping veggies (peel and coarsely chop first), use the processor to chop into smaller pieces. The smaller the pieces, the faster the soup will cook. Plus, a good flavourful soup doesn’t need to simmer for hours anyway. Set the timer and get ready for a bowlful of goodness in less than 30 minutes.

Recipes

• Thai Squash Soup
• Bistro Salmon Soup
• Honeyed Carrot Soup with Smoked Trout
• Mexican Chicken, Squash, and Toasted Millet Soup
• Spicy Green Noodle Soup

Save our soups

Before freezing soup, always cool to room temperature. Do not put hot food directly into the freezer; this raises the temperature of the freezer and may cause other foods to spoil. To quickly cool soup, immerse pot into a sink filled with ice water and stir often until soup has reached room temperature.

When making soup that you plan to freeze

• Don’t add fresh fish or seafood or pasta to soup prior to freezing. Prepare soup up to the point of adding, and then freeze. Add those ingredients when reheating.
• Undercook vegetables in soups you plan to freeze. They will have a better texture when defrosted, then reheated.
• Add fresh herbs just before serving, not before freezing. They’ll have better flavour and colour.
• Divide soup into small portions and label with name and date.