Soups Made from What is Available

When my head is in the refrigerator and containers of leftovers are being placed on the counter, my family knows it is soup night.

Homemade, partially homemade or straight out of cans, soup seems the best answer for the end of the week...I'm sick of coming up with clever recipes for hamburger. It could be Friday or the week-end, but I'm celebrating. We can't afford to go out and I'm too tired to prepare anything fancy. Soup, beautiful soup-endlessly stretchable for unexpected guests, as simple or as elaborate as I care to make it - is my tried and trusted solution.

With my family of appreciative (but sometimes fussy) eaters I know I would have no problem if I were to present, for instance, a bowl of made from scratch soup. You know, the sort of production which began way back last night when I got out the soup bone or bones to start the process of taking a chicken or turkey carcass and creating a lovely, fragrant, homemade soup.

Most of the day I'm peeling, chopping, slicing, skimming. All well and good-well and delicious, in fact. But I'm a busy lady with several interests and obligations, so pots of made from scratch soups are for special occasions only....usually a Sunday.

I have to choke out that, usually, my soups are creations from my leftovers. I start with a pot of canned tomatoes or tomato juice; boil gently with some canned broth while I step (very quietly) over to the refrigerator to survey the possibilities. Leftover soups must be quick and simple or they just plain lose their reason for being, yet they must taste a lot more than a collection of broth bathed leftovers or they lose their audience. The following are some sleight of hand and other tricks used to create soup out of leftovers.

Number 1 is The Importance of Something Fresh: If there is a single, magical ingredient which can transform a pot of bouillon, tomatoes and leftovers into real soup it is fresh onion. The flavor of a few freshly sliced onions work miracles. Onions are followed by celery, green pepper, carrots, and whatever is in the crisper and getting tired (except lettuce). We never add lettuce to soup at our house. Lettuce is only for sandwiches, salads or making tuna/chicken salad look nice on the plate.

Number 2 is the Devil May Care and Derring Do aspect of cooking: These qualities have been responsible for some of my finest soup creations and, maybe, some of my worst. Devil May Care and Derring Do are important if you are to have any fun at all and if you're serious about getting the refrigerator cleared out. I caution fellow soup-makers to exercise these traits only in the presence of a well stocked spice shelf.

Nearly any leftover can be incorporated into some soup, somewhere, somehow. Gravy, grits, goulash. Meatballs, macaroni, maranara sauce. Crackers, tortilla chips, salsa. When the leftovers are laid out I lay out the spices and herbs which go best with them. Italian leftovers cry out for basil and oregano. Tex-Mex want cumin and chili powder. One easy rule: If the seasonings don't seem to go together...neither will the leftovers.

Number 3: The Garlic-Flour Trick: For soups too heavy on leftover vegetables and not enough meat, step things up with garlic-flour. Melt one tablespoon of butter in a small skillet, squeezing in one clove of crushed garlic. If you wish substitute 1/2 teaspoon of canned, minced garlic. Then, at the last minute, whisk this mixture into the soup. It gives the soup "body" and for some odd reason the feeling that there is more meat than there really is.

Number 4: There are going to be days when the leftovers just aren't enough to make a hearty soup. In return promise a really nice dessert. All you need to say is "the reason we're having a light dinner is because I baked a nice chocolate cake! Tonight is dessert night!" If these nights are limited to a couple times a month you will forever remain a bright spot in the lives of your family. Once the light supper is over present the dessert as the highlight, properly "calorized" with ice cream and/or sauce. The idea is to do whatever is sinfully rich and handy. If you're not a "from scratch" kind or person, just stock up on cake mixes and cans of frosting when they're on sale at the grocerey store.

Number 5: The Bread. Most of the time we prefer crackers to bread...however... there will be times when the bread also needs refreshing and something needs to be done with the stale bread lying in wait in the breadbox. One answer is to make croutons. If your family doesn't like the heels of the bread, just save them up and on soup night butter them and cut them into large cubes and slow roast them at 250 degrees for approximately 2 hours or until dry. You can also use flavored butters, such as garlic butter or chili powder mixed in with butter and spread on the bread before cutting into crouton size cubes. A few hot dog or hamburger buns also take well to this treatment.

Number 6: Serve cheese: Cheese is a very important ingredient of soup night. It serves as a pre-dinner appetizer, during dinner side dish, or after dinner accompaniment to dessert. Cheese is versatile. When dinner is served the sliced cheese is added to the soup where it melts into thick, creamy swirls, blending leftovers and croutons into one heavenly soup.