What's the deal with vegetable soup?

To make an amazing vegetable soup, you need not possess culinary prowess. You don't need a lot of time or energy or money, just a little bit of creativity. My first roommate in my first apartment in Boston, who would have made a great husband except for the fact that he liked men and didn't understand the concept of paying the rent, taught me a few years ago how to make a delicious, healthy meal out of nothing.

Look in the fridge and in the freezer. What vegetables do you have? Anything works. I like fresh or frozen vegetables instead of canned because of they have no preservatives.

Toss whatever vegetables you want to into a pot on the stove. I can go as far to say that the pot may be the most important part of the soup. I have a stainless steel 5.5 quart pot that I love. It makes enough soup to feed a few friends and me, or just me for a few days, and it goes from stovetop to fridge easily.

I prefer to make my own broth (again, less preservatives and sodium) but you can also use canned vegetable broth. You want the broth or the water to cover the vegetables in the pot.

To make my own broth, I add to the water vegetable bouillon and seasoning. For red soups, add freshly diced or canned diced tomatoes. For chowders, add soy or rice milk later.

Add two bayleaves and allow vegetables and broth to boil. I like to add beans or pasta or rice to my soup to make it more hearty and add protein. Also consider adding quinoa or barley. Usually, I cheat and get beans from a can because they are quicker, but boiling your own beans is obviously the best way to ensure the freshest flavor and healthiest soup. I use this time while the soup pot is boiling, to boil any pasta or beans I plan to add to the soup. Cook pasta until al dente. (Pasta will continue to cook in the soup and it will dissolve and get too mushy when over-cooked.)

Add beans and/or pasta or rice to the soup at this time and turn down the heat so that it is no longer boiling. Stir all ingredients together.

At this time seasoning begins. For seasoning a quick and easy soup made from a meager spice cabinet, feel free to sprinkle salt, pepper and Mrs. Dash mixed italian seasoning.

For more variety, try including oregano, thyme, parsley, garlic powder, sage, taragon, and allspice. I prefer minced and leaf spices in soups to powders, but season to your own tastes and liking.

For sweet soups, add sugar, oregano, parsley and taragon.

For spicy soups, add curry powder or chilli powder.

Bring soup to a boil once more and allow the spices and ingredients to mingle.
Turn off the stove and leave pot covered until ready to serve.

Soup is so easy, but it fills you up with vitamins and healthy foods and it's a great way to get your vegetables. I love how it tastes differently after each bowl as flavors mingle and ingredients change. It is a perfect vegan meal because it includes so much variety. This is a basic recipe, but make it your own by adding your flair for your own tastes.

I have a penchant for enjoying it with whole wheat toast smeared with smart balance butter.

If your soup lasts for any longer than the evening, the vegetables/beans/pasta may soak up some of the broth. At that time add water and more seasoning to taste.