Fresher's Soup

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26. Its cold and rainy and there's a snow drift outside your door! What are you going to make using the ingredients you have? 

Okay. So it's not that cold. It's late September. It's that oddly warm and sunny time when it's like the weather knows that you've only just gone back to school. It's not rainy. See above comment about the weather. But I do HAVE a cold. And I when I made this soup I had not yet worked out were the shops were in this strange unfamiliar city.

In case from everything above- it was not immediately obvious.... I made this soup in Fresher's Week. Officially called 'Welcome Week' - its basically just a load of young people spending the week getting drunk and trying to work out how to do Laundry.

Although if you don't drink - there is plenty going on. You don't have to be a complete and utter social recluse- however.... this is me... and so I stayed in.... and made soup.

All comments about just how weird that is are not appreciated. Who would choose a night out over a night in making soup?

All that chopping of veggies........ what's not to stay in for?

And I had actually worked out where the shops were.... but I had only been past them once... and at the time I had 5 minutes to get to a lecture that I knew was on the other side of the city but had absolutely no idea how to get there. (seriously.... I was redirected 4 times before anyone even gave me the RIGHT directions.... and was half an hour late to my first class. Luckily - I didn't really miss anything!)

So yeah.... no time to go in to buy anything to pad out my..... meagre produce collection. I didn't really want to bring that much fresh stuff from home. Just enough to get me through the first few days.

So I stuck with the basics.... apples, carrots and sweet potatoes. I would have bought banana's as well.... but I was pretty sure that they wouldn't survive the journey. So I didn't.

And spent the first few days with serious cravings for bananas and oats- and no bananas or oats.

But that meant that when I came to make soup... I didn't have that many options. I mean..... when making a veggie soup..... you do kind of need vegetables.

And fruit. Don't worry - I didn't put any bananas in there - but I did feel the need to make something more than a carrot and sweet potato soup - and so I threw an apple in. I'm sat here typing and beginning to think that maybe my parents are right - and that everything I eat is a weird combination. 

Freshers Soup
Makes about 4-5 servings (I have no idea how - I didn't include that many veggies!)

• 2 carrots
• 1 eating apple
•  1 sweet potato
• 1 tablespoon veggie stock powder
• enough water to cover the veggies
• 1 teaspoon dried time
• 1/2 teaspoon of chili flakes
• 1 teaspoon of ground ginger
• 1 cup of chickpeas - divided into two 1/2 cups

• Chop (and peel if necessary) the veggies. As I did this, I placed them in a plastic Tupperware container and topped them with water. This wasn't really necessary - but I did it anyway - so I only know amounts of water in 'enough to cover the veggies' (when I say veggies I'm including the fruit). I'm pretty sure that this would work if you placed the veggies straight into the pan and added water to cover. 
• Add the veggies, water, stock powder (you could also use a veggie stock cube), thyme, ginger and chili flakes into a pan, and cook over a medium heat. 
• When the veggies are soft (30-60 mins) take them off the heat and add 1/2 cup chickpeas. Blend until smooth. If the soup is too thick - add some more water. If it's too thin - place the soup back on the stove-top and cook on a high heat till the soup has thickened. 
• Add the remaining chickpeas, and heat over a gentle heat till the soup has warmed up.