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Soup is the epitome of comfort, a wonderful soul warming food filled with wholesome ingredients and fantastic flavors. Homemade soup allows the cook complete mastery over what goes into each recipe, and the methods and techniques used to create delicious and nutritious dishes. Simply Soups presents easy to follow, step-by-step soup recipes in a format that takes the guesswork out of preparation, and allows the home chef to concentrate on creating perfect soup every time out. Soups are ideal as appetizers or starters, as a side dish, or as a one-pot meal.
Most recipes presented here can be created with basic kitchen tools. A cutting board, sharp paring and chefs knives, vegetable peeler, wooden spoon, skimmer, measuring cups and spoons, a stand-up or immersion blender, ladle, saucepans, stockpot, and a kitchen timer are all that’s necessary to re-create restaurant quality soups in the comfort of your own kitchen.
Most savory soups start with stock. As such, the soup maker should give considerable attention to stock, because this rich broth is so important to the taste of many great soups. Creating stock from scratch is a skill worth mastering, as so many recipes start with stock as the base to add and create rich flavor. Stock is the liquid from boiled meats, poultry, seafood, or vegetables, plus additional seasonings. The stock is filtered through one or more strainers, such as wire mesh or cheesecloth, the solid ingredients are discarded or set aside for later use. The resulting liquid is a rich, flavorful base ready to use in creating soups and stews.
Fresh ingredients make the best dishes. To insure the highest quality results, invest in fresh meats, vegetables, herbs and spices. While the beauty of soup is the ability to use leftovers and items in the refrigerator and pantry that may otherwise spoil, when you are setting out to make a memorable dish, head to the supermarket and purchase fresh ingredients.
Soup makes a wonderful addition to any meal, and once you make a pot or two, you'll discover it isn't really that hard to make. Final adjustments can be made before the soup hits the table. Some soups are finished with special sauces and garnishes, allowing each guest to create a dish that suits their particular taste.
Soup can be savory or sweet, hot or cold, thick or thin. SimplySoups.com offers hundreds of taste tested soup recipes in 24 categories, from simple to gourmet, including the classics and many new and exciting soup creations. | 
