I love cooking.

My brother just moved into the new house today, and I move in on sunday.  He's been married for two years and recently divorced so he's completely dependent on a fulltime stay at home woman, and is hopeless without one(I saw his apartment, it's horrid).  Which means that I'll have to do the cooking and cleaning.  Cuz he's a, "guy" and can't do those things cuz he has to, "work" and go to "school" even though I top him out on hours and credits...

Sorry for bitching.

I wanna know how to make beef/veggie soup.  The best way.  And lots of it!(big big big pot).
Every recipe I come across has something different.  And, it's all weird.  And I hate recipes anyways, I just like the base laid out and I can work it out as I go, unless I'm doing something new for the first time... like making a soup.

I want it to be like campbell's beef/veggie soup, but with fresher veggies, better meat, and a lot less sodium...

I think half of the recipies that Rachael Ray has on her site are for that veggie soup, not all beef, but there must be one.  James Beard in the New York Times Cookbook has a good way too, but I don't think that is on line, but you might try.

Quote from: tekla on December 18, 2008, 10:19:20 PM
I think half of the recipies that Rachael Ray has on her site are for that veggie soup, not all beef, but there must be one.  James Beard in the New York Times Cookbook has a good way too, but I don't think that is on line, but you might try.

Wow.

You said something to me that wasn't a veiled insult or derogatory innuendo.

I'm shocked.

I'll check those sites out.

Well I just find making soup to be a lot better than getting guns or driving a hundredmillion miles an hour, silly me.

Quote from: tekla on December 18, 2008, 10:27:58 PM
Well I just find making soup to be a lot better than getting guns or driving a hundredmillion miles an hour, silly me.

The guns are sold as of tomorrow, all except the basic shotgun for home defense.
I lost faith in my self control after I let my thoughts slip away on things like columbine and virginia tech, and it's not worth risking.
Don't hate me for having fun on a motorcycle though.  It's just fun, afterall, not like you could end up splattered, you're in a several hundred pound box of metal.

Hey I road bikes for most of my life, from 16 to about 50 or so when I gave them up, had a bunch of dirt bikes as a kid too and lots of places to ride them on the fire trails.  Its not the bike, its the recklessness, and its not even that, if you want to risk it, fine, but its the other people on the road who are also taking the risk without even being asked if they want to.

I couldn't find any beef/veggie soups on Ray's page.

And not much risk can be transferred from a motorcycle to a four wheeled vehicle.  I could understand bad sentiments of a reckless truck driver and all...

Oh type Veggie Soup and Ray into google, I found some when I was checking

Or try the Food Network site, I bet they have a bunch, its winter and that's a winter kind of food.

Quote from: tekla on December 18, 2008, 10:38:05 PM
Oh type Veggie Soup and Ray into google, I found some when I was checking

Or try the Food Network site, I bet they have a bunch, its winter and that's a winter kind of food.

I don't like most of the recipes...  I already searched for recipes and couldn't find anything i really liked.

I want a really thick sort of soup just thin enough to still be a soup, tons of veggies and beef, not this weird stuff they're showing in the recipes...

Quote from: Annwyn on December 18, 2008, 10:15:32 PM
I wanna know how to make beef/veggie soup.  The best way.  And lots of it!(big big big pot).
Every recipe I come across has something different.  And, it's all weird.  And I hate recipes anyways, I just like the base laid out and I can work it out as I go, unless I'm doing something new for the first time... like making a soup.

Beef + veggies + hot sauce.  It might not be the best way, or even a serious way, but it's my way.

I'm thinking carrots, onions, garlic, peppers (green & red bell & a some Poblano), barley, red potatoes, peas, mushrooms, & beef rib eye thrown into a pot with some water & a bit of salt, vinegar, MSG, bay leaf, cornstarch & olive oil.

EDIT:  Curse you, you've gone and made me hungry.

I like motorcycles, but nobody else should have them. I like guns, but nobody else should have them.

Sear the beef in a frying pan. Not too long, don't cook it through. (We're talking cubes of beef here, maybe half inch ish). Just brown the outside. Then put lots of onions in. You should have oil in to top up the beef fat if there isn't enough. Push the beef to the side in a stack to avoid overcooking it. Onions and beef fat will make your stock flavour.

When you have it all nice and oily and beef fatty with onion flavour, (ie: onions translucent) add about a tablespoon or two of flour, gradually, stirring so it doesn't get all sticky. Salt to taste at this point. Then, throw it all in a stock pot, stir in a bit of water, maybe 4 cups, and throw your carrots in. A bit of barley's good here too. Some celery as well if you insist on lots of vegetables. Put some cubed potatoes in and that'll help thicken it. Cook the hell out of it and when the carrots and potatoes are not mushy, but can be stabbed with a fork easily, you can add other stuff like mushrooms and peppers, but not too many peppers - they do get bitter. Add more water if that works with the taste. I usually add another couple of cups. At this point taste it. If it doesn't taste beefy enough, add some salt. If it still doesn't, then cheat and throw in an oxo cube. It depends on how fatty your beef was, the fattier, the better. I like a little worcestershire sauce in mine. Now would be the time to add it if you do - but watch, it's a little salty.

If it's not thick enough, you can do one of two things. Take a little stock out and whip it up with some corn starch and put it back in, stirring. Or, you can scoop some fat off the top and mix it up with flour, heat it up a bit, and whip it back in.

And don't ride your damn motorbike too fast. People do care about you, you know. And if you want the best chicken soup recipe in the world, I might give it to you. Way better than the beef.

Dennis

edit: oo, Kaitlyn reminded me, a clove or two of garlic in the initial oil with the beef is good too. I like to grate some ginger in there depending on the veg I'm throwing in.

Dennis, you forgot the most important ingredient of all - MSG!   

EDIT: Never mind, I forgot that Oxo has tons of the stuff in it.

I like that idea Dennis came up with(men know what they like to eat!  ), and Emme shot out some ideas at me like using canned potatoes cuz they cook faster then that idea of searing the beef is also a good one.
What kind of beef can I use?  I'm so picky with my food, I don't think I've ever touched a roast, I always go straight to the prime cuts.

What kind of cook time am I looking at?  And are there any generalized ratios of meat-soup and such that I could know?  Such as, if making 5 gallons soup, use such and such pounds of meat?

And, how many tomatoes can I add?  I've heard adding those can really mess up how a soup turns out.
You said fat thickens it, right?  So couldn't I use bacon drippings if it needs thickening instead of wheat?

Fat flavours it. Starch thickens it. Bacon fat would change the taste - could be good, but not sure. I've never found that tomatoes screw up a soup, although they are a tad acidic. A can of stewed tomatoes, liquid included, could substitute for some of the water. If you're putting fresh in, the only thing is the skins. I don't mind them, some people do.

I'm not sure about quantities. I always just build soup around what I've got. Maybe a couple of pounds for 5 gal? Kind of beef, you could use stewing beef, but you have to allow a lot of time to tenderize it - like 3-4 hours or so. Or you could cut up a cheaper steak. Well marbled is going to have better fat to flavour it, and be more tender.

Oh, you could throw a couple of bay leaves in too.

And Emme, you might have the best chicken noodle, but I've got the best mulligatawny. We could trade recipes

Dennis

Cube the beaf and braise it in the bottom of the soup pot. Add water to cover and simmer. Add diced onion and veggies of your preference with water to cover. If any of them are potatoes or carrots, add them first and simmer until tender, then add others. Smash a clove of garlic and add that. Add salt, pepper, and basil, and enough water to make it soup-like. Simmer until the flavors marry and serve.

Quote from: Emme on December 19, 2008, 07:10:04 AM
I'm up for a recipe swap.  In fact, I'm not entirely sure what that other soup even is. LMAO

Oh you'll love it Emme. Heading out on holiday soon, but I'll do a recipe thread after I get back.

Dennis

Quote from: Annwyn on December 19, 2008, 05:17:35 AM
What kind of cook time am I looking at?  And are there any generalized ratios of meat-soup and such that I could know?  Such as, if making 5 gallons soup, use such and such pounds of meat?

For some reason, that made me think of ionic equations.

3Beef^-2(aq) + 2Veggie^+3(aq) -> Beef_3Veggie_2(stew)

What kind of cook time am I looking at?  And are there any generalized ratios of meat-soup and such that I could know?  Such as, if making 5 gallons soup, use such and such pounds of meat?

I know you don't like that whole recipe/cookbook deal, but that's pretty much the kind of information they contain.  That whole cooking time, ratios, how to increase or decrease the amount, how much you need of what.  The little things.

i make carrot and coriander soup, cheap and tasty.

The best veggie soup stock is cheap chicken wings boiled up, season a bit and reduce the water. You can than gnaw on the cheap chicken wings for a snack.   

Quote from: Annwyn on December 19, 2008, 05:17:35 AM
And, how many tomatoes can I add?  I've heard adding those can really mess up how a soup turns out.

The main two reasons tomatoes do that is they are mostly water and they have a strong taste. Reduce the amount of water equal to the volume of tomatoes added. If you're going the tomato route use strong seasonings like oragano and other ingredents with a strong flavor. Eg: use beef instead of chicken. Vegetables like zuccini work well.