Lockdown Day 58 – Vegetable Soup
Cooking Time!
If the weather service is to be believed there is a cold front approaching our shores. Just in time for some hearty pre-winter fare.
TERRI’S VEGETABLE SOUP
Getting children involved in the kitchen and in the cooking process is a good way of getting their ‘buy-in’ to eat what they have cooked. This also allows for vocabulary building and the development and refinement of many manipulative skills.
INGREDIENTS
- 6 cups of chopped fresh vegetables (butternut, green beans, spinach, sweet potato, onions, leeks, pumpkin, carrots,
- potato, baby marrows, celery – with the leaves)
- 1 tin of peeled and chopped tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons finely minced garlic
- 4 cups of liquid chicken stock
- 100 grams of butter
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Optional: chilli flakes and mixed herbs
PREPARATION
Invite the child to help you prepare all the ingredients. This will involve all sorts of manipulative skills – washing, peeling, grating, slicing, etc. Remember that teaching a child to handle sharp objects responsibly is far more beneficial to the child than protecting her/him from the ‘dangers’ thereof.
Name the ingredients as you work with them and use this opportunity to revisit what was previously learned with the noun and adjective grammar games. There will also be lots of verb and adverb opportunities during this preparation!
METHOD
This recipe requires the use of the stove, so you will need to make sure to give your child clear, and age-appropriate instructions, for safety.
- Melt the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat.
- Once melted, add the vegetables, minced garlic and a pinch of salt (pepper, chilli flakes and mixed herbs are optional) and cook until they begin to soften, stirring occasionally for approximately 15 minutes.
- Carefully pour in the chicken stock, increase the heat to high, and bring to a simmer for approximately 10 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for approximately 30 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
- Remove from heat and blitz with a hand blender or leave as is if you like a chunky soup.
- (Boiling water can be added and stirred through if the soup is too thick.)
- Add some parsley, season to taste and serve with fresh bread or toasted sourdough. See our lockdown tip #51 for Heidi’s delicious pot bread as an accompaniment!
Note: this soup freezes well for up to 12 weeks.
Bon Appetit!
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