Vegetable Scheme Soup

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22. Make a dish using all seasonal produce

I did think about multiple seasonal products. I thought about walking around the supermarket and then picking up all the seasonal vegetables coming home and then making something spectacular.

But my university runs a veg bag scheme- and I suddenly got excited - and I thought that I would get one of those and then work with what I got in there. But they haven't started yet (although hopefully they will soon!)

So I had to rethink. And I've got to admit - although I mostly know what is and isn't in season right now - I'm not entirely sure. I mean - with supermarkets stretching out the seasons till - lets be honest - they're pretty much all year- it's hard to know exactly when the seasons actually begin and end.

I mean - I know that everyone is making pumpkin this and pumpkin that on the blogosphere (have I ever told you just how much I LOVE pumpkin season) but is it really pumpkin season - or is it slightly too early?

I mean.... I'd love to do something with pumpkin..... but I also don't want to use up all my pumpkin posts too early.... I mean.... I'd really love to do lots with pumpkin this year.

I mean - I also could of done something with apples - but I always do something with apples.

So I went back to the start.

And thought to the veg bags. If they had started yet - what would I get in there. And the answer was - I didn't know.

What I was certain I would get, is potatoes, carrots and onions. Because with all my experience in veg bags (we got one for a few years when I was younger) we got potatoes and carrots and onions every week. And I kind of get the impression that it's the same here.

So what can I do with potatoes and carrots and onions?

Um.... make soup. I'm in the mood for soup right now. But I promise- I'll try and make sure that this is my last soup recipe for a while. But expect lots of soup recipes in the future- because I don't think that my soup phase is done.

So..... going back to the original prompt..... I'm not sure if these even are seasonal produce. They actually seem to be more like ever seasonal. I may have created something made with three totally unseasonal ingredients.

But it's using veggies that always come in veg schemes - and so I guess it's useful to have a recipe for using up these ever-seasonal veggies in case there's ever a week where something goes wrong and I don't use up my veggies in other ways- and I have a surplus of potatoes and carrots and onions. Although my friend did say that she eats a lot of carrot sticks at uni - and I can see that she's right - because I'm already on my third bag of carrots since I got here.

I like this soup because it's basic. I didn't add any herbs or spices - other than stock powder- because I wanted to keep it basic. I guess like a canvas for other things. That way - I can make the same basic soup - and then change it up using what ever I have in or fancy at the time. This is a soup for add ins and toppings.

Vegetable Scheme Soup
Makes about 6 servings

• 1 onion
• 2 carrots
• 1 lb of potatoes (this is before I peeled them and removed any eyes)
• 1 Tablespoon of stock powder
• Boiling water

• Dice the onion fairly finely. 
• Add the onion to a big pan - and sauté for about five minutes until the onions are almost cooked. 
• Whilst the onions are cooking - chop the carrots and potatoes into small chunks (I washed and peeled the potatoes- but just washed the carrots well) 
• Add the potatoes and carrots to the pan - and cook for about five-ten minutes. 
• Pour boiling water and stock powder into the pan - until it's about 1 inch above the top of the veggies. I should have measured out the water - I know. I think this is somewhere between  1-2 pints of water. 
• Cook until the potatoes- and especially the carrots - are soft. I reckon that this will take about 30-60 minutes- depending on how high a heat you're cooking them on.
• Take the pan off the heat and blend the soup. I didn't blend it completely - I wasn't that patient -  but about 90-95% blended. 
• But the soup back on the heat. If it's too watery - turn the heat up and cook (make sure it's uncovered) for a while till some of the water has cooked off. If it's too thick - and some more water and cook for a few minutes till it is incorporated. 
• Divide up the soup into portions. I added some beans I already had in the fridge and heated my serving through again so the beans weren't cold. 
• Oh... I also topped mine with hot sauce.