What Sup: Homemade Vegetable Soup

You will need: 4 stalks celery and the leaves, 4 leaks,1 onion chopped, 2 garlic cloves, 1 tsp nutmeg,chicken stock 1 litre,1 turnip peeled and finely, 6 large carrots peeled and finely grated, 1 packet white onion soup powder, 2 cups butternut diced, 1 potato diced into cubes. Right at the end you can add 1 can of borlotti beans or kidney beans.

As a child, I used to love my mother's homemade vegetable bean soup. In the winter it brought comfort and even years later when I made it for my husband Jay, he loved it just as much. Especially after a hectic day at the office. With simple, inexpensive ingredients my mother's homemade vegetable soup is very easy to put together. Although she had no written recipe for her soup, I followed her around as she made it one afternoon many years ago and made metal notes of the ingredients and quantities so that I could replicate her recipe.

You will first need to fry up the onion, garlic and the leaks in some olive oil till translucent. Then add the chicken stock and all the other veg and simmer till all the veg is soft. At the end you can add the onion soup to thicken the soup and use your blender to make it smooth. You dont have to do this if you prefer chunky soups.

I put the soup in a blender and then added the beans. Serve with some bread or croutons.