Overthinking Cooking

"cybercat" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have mentioned my mother-in-law's famous soup, where everything,
including the beef, comes from a can. (Except maybe the white corn and baby
limas, which are frozen.) It is actually very good, as in,
hard-to-stop-eating good.

My vegetable beef soup turned out very nice, we are enjoying it. But it
lacked that distinctive "tang" that my MIL's has. (My husband did not say
this, Bless his heart, but I noticed it.)

As some of you know, I had decided it must be "just the right ratio of
tomato to beef broth" that gave it that delicious flavor.

When I commented that I had not achieved this, my husband said, "I don't
think she uses beef broth." I just looked at him, and said "Vegetable beef
soup with no beef broth?" He said, "I watched her make it growing up, and
never saw a can of beef broth."

So there you have it. The "tang" comes because the broth is just a can of
whole tomatoes with water added and simmered with the vegetables and beef
on low for an hour or so.

Oh well! Good for an emergency meal if you can't get to the shops🙂)

cybercat said:

I have mentioned my mother-in-law's famous soup, where everything, including
the beef, comes from a can. (Except maybe the white corn and baby limas,
which are frozen.) It is actually very good, as in, hard-to-stop-eating
good.

My vegetable beef soup turned out very nice, we are enjoying it. But it
lacked that distinctive "tang" that my MIL's has. (My husband did not say
this, Bless his heart, but I noticed it.)

As some of you know, I had decided it must be "just the right ratio of
tomato to beef broth" that gave it that delicious flavor.

When I commented that I had not achieved this, my husband said, "I don't
think she uses beef broth." I just looked at him, and said "Vegetable beef
soup with no beef broth?" He said, "I watched her make it growing up, and
never saw a can of beef broth."

So there you have it. The "tang" comes because the broth is just a can of
whole tomatoes with water added and simmered with the vegetables and beef on
low for an hour or so.

Our family has always put some ketchup in the veg. soup
when eating it. I think my grandfather started that.
It does wonders for the soup. I know it sounds weird but
it is really good. It adds just the right zing.

Kate

--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?
[email hidden]

"Kate Connally" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Our family has always put some ketchup in the veg. soup
when eating it. I think my grandfather started that.
It does wonders for the soup. I know it sounds weird but
it is really good. It adds just the right zing.

Doesn't sound werid at all! It hardly matters what form the
tomato is in, I find for many soups. When I make my lentil
soup, I like to use a little hot salsa, but if I don't have any,
a squirt of ketchup or a little canned tomatoes works fine.
(I like the color it adds too, particularly to lentil and bean
soups, which can be downright gray and ugly on their own!
Lentils--has anything that tastes so good ever looked worse?)
😉

Kate Connally said:

cybercat said:

I have mentioned my mother-in-law's famous soup, where everything,
including the beef, comes from a can. (Except maybe the white corn
and baby limas, which are frozen.) It is actually very good, as in,
hard-to-stop-eating good.

My vegetable beef soup turned out very nice, we are enjoying it. But
it lacked that distinctive "tang" that my MIL's has. (My husband did
not say this, Bless his heart, but I noticed it.)

As some of you know, I had decided it must be "just the right ratio
of tomato to beef broth" that gave it that delicious flavor.

When I commented that I had not achieved this, my husband said, "I
don't think she uses beef broth." I just looked at him, and said
"Vegetable beef soup with no beef broth?" He said, "I watched her
make it growing up, and never saw a can of beef broth."

So there you have it. The "tang" comes because the broth is just a
can of whole tomatoes with water added and simmered with the
vegetables and beef on low for an hour or so.

Our family has always put some ketchup in the veg. soup
when eating it. I think my grandfather started that.
It does wonders for the soup. I know it sounds weird but
it is really good. It adds just the right zing.

Kate

I've made it (based on some recommendations here) using V-8 juice rather
than tomatoes, tomato sauce or ketchup. It's very good. In fact, V-8 just
heated up by itself makes a very nice tomato soup for those times when
tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich would hit the spot.

Jill

jmcquown said:

I've made it (based on some recommendations here) using V-8 juice rather
than tomatoes, tomato sauce or ketchup. It's very good. In fact, V-8 just
heated up by itself makes a very nice tomato soup for those times when
tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich would hit the spot.

I thought that was my secret trick! Turns out you thought of it too.
Vegetarian, home-cooked, fast food for when unexpected company shows up:
V-8 plus whatever vegetables are in the fridge, onion, carrot,
cabbage, etc. People think I'm a genius for being able to put a home
made soup on the table in so little time.

Variations:

Add orange juice and curry powder.
Add a dollop of plain yogurt and Italian seasoning.
Keep herb cubes (chopped fresh herbs in white wine frozen in ice cube
trays) on hand, and toss in a dill one.
Add grated Parmesan cheese.

--Lia

Julia Altshuler said:

I thought that was my secret trick! Turns out you thought of it too.
Vegetarian, home-cooked, fast food for when unexpected company shows up:
V-8 plus whatever vegetables are in the fridge, onion, carrot, cabbage,
etc. People think I'm a genius for being able to put a home made soup
on the table in so little time.

I first heard of it years ago from Richard Simmons. He used a little
oregano in his, with lots of carrots, bean sprouts, cabbage, etc..
I like it very much, and probably don't make it near as often as I should..?

jmcquown said:

Kate Connally said:

cybercat said:

I have mentioned my mother-in-law's famous soup, where everything,
including the beef, comes from a can. (Except maybe the white corn
and baby limas, which are frozen.) It is actually very good, as in,
hard-to-stop-eating good.

My vegetable beef soup turned out very nice, we are enjoying it. But
it lacked that distinctive "tang" that my MIL's has. (My husband did
not say this, Bless his heart, but I noticed it.)

As some of you know, I had decided it must be "just the right ratio
of tomato to beef broth" that gave it that delicious flavor.

When I commented that I had not achieved this, my husband said, "I
don't think she uses beef broth." I just looked at him, and said
"Vegetable beef soup with no beef broth?" He said, "I watched her
make it growing up, and never saw a can of beef broth."

So there you have it. The "tang" comes because the broth is just a
can of whole tomatoes with water added and simmered with the
vegetables and beef on low for an hour or so.

Our family has always put some ketchup in the veg. soup
when eating it. I think my grandfather started that.
It does wonders for the soup. I know it sounds weird but
it is really good. It adds just the right zing.

Kate

I've made it (based on some recommendations here) using V-8 juice rather
than tomatoes, tomato sauce or ketchup.

Just to clarify - I don't make it using ketchup, the ketchup
is added by each person to taste to their own personal serving.
I do put canned diced tomatoes in the soup. So it's not the
tomato flavor we're after with the ketchup, but the other
flavor components in the ketchup - tartness, spiciness, etc.
It's especially good if you have some good homemade ketchup
like my mother used to make. I've made it a few times myself
over the years. It's sweeter and spicier than Heinz.

I have in the past, on occasion, used tomato juice in my
veg. soup in addtion to canned tomatoes.

Kate

--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?
[email hidden]

Julia Altshuler said:

I thought that was my secret trick! Turns out you thought of it too.

I'm sure it's that something extra for many folks and their secret
recipes. My minestrone wouldn't be the best in the World without it.

nb

Julia Altshuler <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

jmcquown said:

I've made it (based on some recommendations here) using V-8 juice
rather than tomatoes, tomato sauce or ketchup. It's very good. In
fact, V-8 just heated up by itself makes a very nice tomato soup for
those times when tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich would hit
the spot.

I thought that was my secret trick! Turns out you thought of it too.
Vegetarian, home-cooked, fast food for when unexpected company shows
up:
V-8 plus whatever vegetables are in the fridge, onion, carrot,
cabbage, etc. People think I'm a genius for being able to put a home
made soup on the table in so little time.

Variations:

Add orange juice and curry powder.
Add a dollop of plain yogurt and Italian seasoning.
Keep herb cubes (chopped fresh herbs in white wine frozen in ice cube
trays) on hand, and toss in a dill one.
Add grated Parmesan cheese.

--Lia

Isn't that lose weight weight soup based on V-8 and cabbage?

--

The house of the burning beet-Alan

It'll be a sunny day in August, when the Moon will shine that night-
Elbonian Folklore

In article <[email hidden]>,

notbob said:

Julia Altshuler said:

I thought that was my secret trick! Turns out you thought of it too.

I'm sure it's that something extra for many folks and their secret
recipes. My minestrone wouldn't be the best in the World without it.

nb

V-8 juice has a lot of uses. Makes a good base for Chili too.

I like it cold as a drink or hot as a soup mostly.
--
Peace, Om

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"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a [censored]" -- Jack Nicholson