My week in soup – one bowl at a time

My week in soup – one bowl at a time

January is national soup month so I thought I’d take the opportunity to say a bit about my blog. I thought the easiest way to do that was to show you my typical soup week and say a bit about batch cooking, freezing and containers! It really is a shout out to quick and easy recipes, avoiding food waste and ensuring you always have a nutritional ready meal to hand. I haven’t provided a new recipe in this post but there are links to some recipes that I’ve shared before.

I obviously go through quite a lot of soup, mainly because I like it but also because I test some of my recipes a few times before I share them. Nothing goes to waste though, so anything I’m not eating immediately is portioned out and stored in the freezer. I rely heavily on my trusty Tupperware dishes and foil trays. My absolute favourites are the Sistema noodle bowls and soup mugs I use for my work lunches. I’ve had mine for years and years so would be lost without them! You’ll see they feature in the pictures above. Every time I make soup I ensure at least one portion goes into a Sistema bowl and into the fridge. That way I just grab it and go the next day – no need to fuss over packed lunch preparation.

When I’m freezing it, I like to use a small foil tray so I only need to defrost one portion at a time. If I freeze larger portions it can mean having the same soup for a few days in a row. The single portion approach also ensures everyone dining can have the flavour they prefer with minimal effort.

Although I use a reasonable picture to accompany each recipe I do realise they aren’t as beautiful as they could be. One of the reasons for that is simply because I’m not a keen photographer, but I also think it is important to use a photograph that genuinely looks like the finished product. I find it really disappointing when you spend time following a recipe only to discover it looks nothing like the beautiful glossy picture that first inspired you.

All soups pictured on my blog are something I’m going to eat. I’m normally hungry and desperate to tuck in, so my photos are often taken with a steamed up lens. I’m too impatient to let it cool! My photo collage in this post shows my week’s worth of soup lunches, warts and all. It really is far more basic than most Instagram pics. That’s deliberate though. I wanted to show you what I really have for a desk based lunch rather than leave you with a false impression. That way you know the shaken up contents of your flask or tub you’re having really are the same as mine!

The soups shown in the pic are all recipes I’ve shared before:

• Chestnut soup
• Roasted red pepper soup
• Fridge soup
• Scotch broth (two portions)

Well, that was my week in soup. Will you be trying some new recipes or ideas this week? I’d love to hear all about the soup you’re enjoying at the moment.

Val x