"Soups by Kay"

Anyone who knows me knows that I love love LOVE good food in all its different forms, shapes, sizes. I enjoy trying out new and interesting flavours, always pushing the pushing the boundaries of adventurism.  Aside from enjoying partaking in the activity of actually eating, I also love cooking. I can’t bake to save my life, but give me a few saucepans and some peace and quiet in the kitchen I can whip up something memorable. I sometimes laugh at myself that my interest in cooking does get extreme. I can decide on Monday what I would like to eat on Friday and spend the entire week making the necessary preparations. I once remember my dad thinking I had gone mad one night when I managed to cook dinner, plus prepare a chicken curry which we were going to eat 2 nights later (curry is best served after at least 24hrs after it’s been cooked, becomes more flavoursome)... But yeah you get the picture, I love food, and I love cooking it!

In recent weeks I’ve started to expand my scope of culinary skills by venturing into making soups from scratch. For most of my life I’ve enjoyed “instant” soup from the packet by just adding boiling water and the occasional canned goodies from Woolies (when available, supply in Swaziland is not very consistent). At our restaurant at work, the kitchen prides itself on its homemade soups. I figured surely it can’t be that difficult. After spending a few hours on Google, I downloaded an arsenal of recipes to add to my newly formed “Soups” file to add to my recipe book collection. With winter now stretching its icy tentacles the timing could not be perfect. There’s no better way to warm up than with a steaming mug of hearty goodness.

 I started out with a relatively easy butternut and sweet potato soup, followed by a potato, leek & bacon number (yes I love potatoes).  After those successful attempts, I have decided to cook one different soup per week for the next two months June/July. The plan is to cook and freeze in portions so that when the local “Christmas in July Winter Fete” comes along, I may have some wares to sell, and share my newfound passion. The stall will be called “Soups by Kay”. My parents and sister are willing guinea pigs, and have proven to offer interesting feedback and pointers (influenced by too much Masterchef and Food Network Challenge )  Since most soups are vegetarian, ingredients are not difficult to come by. I was pleasantly surprised that my local Pick ‘n Pay does stock a very wide range of vegetables some which were making their debut on my kitchen shopping list (leeks).

Aside from the satisfaction and sense of accomplishment that cannot be substituted, the 45mins or so of “prep” in the kitchen has become a great way to de-stress; it’s my time to reflect on my day. The entire act of soup-making has become therapeutic in some ways. The end result is always worth the effort, and gets me excited to do all over again with a new recipe.

Tonight I shall enjoy the fruit of my labour and enjoy a creamy chicken and mushroom soup!