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Ideas

 
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George Gingras



Joined: 20 Nov 2006
Posts: 1
Location: Chicago area

PostPosted: Mon Nov 20, 2006 2:46 pm    Post subject: Ideas Reply with quote

I am new to your site Michael..and retired.

At the current time I volunteer on a weekly basis, during our very cold winter months, to make Soup for the homeless in the location of our church. The soup is made in my home and transported.

The organization is referred to as 'Pads', which maintains numerous locations. In addition to feeding they also supply bedding etc. for spending the night.

My need is simple .. new soup recipe ideas for 30 to 40 homeless people? Cost must also be considered due to limited funds.
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Michael Chu



Joined: 10 May 2005
Posts: 1654
Location: Austin, TX (USA)

PostPosted: Mon Nov 20, 2006 5:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

How are the soups currently made?

A chicken soup base is full of nutrients, tastes great, and is generally used from discards or extremely cheap ingredients (chicken bones, root vegetables, aromatics like onion) and can be added to easily to make a variety of soups. Simply cooking pasta in the soup results in chicken noodle soup while adding beans and finely chopped vegtables can turn it into a minestrone.
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DrBiggles



Joined: 12 May 2005
Posts: 356
Location: Richmond, CA

PostPosted: Mon Nov 20, 2006 9:12 pm    Post subject: Re: Ideas Reply with quote

George Gingras wrote:


My need is simple .. new soup recipe ideas for 30 to 40 homeless people? Cost must also be considered due to limited funds.


Hey George,

Right off the top of my head I would opt for a Split Pea soup. Bulk split peas are terribly inexpensive and most of the flavors come from smoke ham shanks/hocks, also inexpensive. When done halfway decently, this can a rich, flavorful and wholesome meal when served with only bread & butter. Any soup utilizing dried beans and cheap cuts of smoked meats would surely be a great way to easily serve many without much from the till. Sorry, don't have any exact recipes for those numbers.

Biggles
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Lintballoon



Joined: 08 Oct 2006
Posts: 42
Location: Massachusetts

PostPosted: Sun Nov 26, 2006 4:18 pm    Post subject: Soup Reply with quote

There could be an entire topic here just for soups.
I agree with previous poster about beans being a really economical, cheap and nutritious meal. In my poorer days I lived off black bean soup, which can be made as fancy or simple as budgets allow.
Though it may be an acquired taste, two of my favorites are beet soup (barsht) and cabbage soup. Both are very simple to make.
For the beet soup, I fry a little salt pork (white bacon), with some onion and celery. Then I simply boil the beets unpeeled so they keep their color.
Depending on the size, it can take half hour to one hour. When they are nice and soft, I pull them out and discard the water (which can can be dirty) The skins come off easily then. I also boil some peeled and diced potatos in new water, or stock if I have it. Once they begin to soften, I chop the cooked beets, taking a generous slice off the leaf end because it can be bitter, and add them and the onion/salt port mixture, and some dill and the beet stems, if they are there. If greens came with the beets I slice and add them too. They will take only a minute or so to cook. I find I like a good bit of salt added to the broth. That's it. Carrots or other root vegitables can be added. Buttermilk or sour cream can also be added, but adds to the cost. This can also easily be make w/o the salt pork for vegitarians.
Second, the cabbage soup is also easy, but again an acquired taste. Start with simmering some pork trimmings, the cheapest you can get will work fine, like a pork shoulder (often .70 a pound). If you use shoulder, which is fatty, you will want to cool the stock and defat it before proceeding.
Then add chopped head of cabbage, potatoes, carrots, and let that simmer until all are tender. I like to add cinnamon, allspice and cloves as seasonings.
Finally when it is cooked, drain and rinse some sauerkraut (one small can workes with one head of cabbage. Let this heat up and your done. Nice with a good dark rye on the side.
And another cheap suggestion is squash soup - I think there is a recipe already on this site. My mom used to buy a bushel of butternut each winter and keep it in the cellar. I think she got it for about 5 bucks and it lasted until spring,
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