Farewell to Raven

[Ruth]

I used to have a food processor and a real nice mixer with bowls but I left them at a place I moved from years ago because my new place then was much smaller and I didn't have enough room. It's nice to have the right kitchen tools!

[Catherine]

I had a nice mixer, but it finally wore out and I got rid of it. I kept the bowls though. They are very good.
I have a little hand mixer. It is good for making mashed potatoes and simple things. The processor does the rest, but I still need to replace the blender  (it ran from the same motor as the mixer)

I could check out one of the kitchen supply stores in my area, but I am going to want a great many wonderful cooking utensils once I see them. Some sharp little paring knives would be nice. Cutting up veggies is so much easier if you have the right knife.

[cathie]

I'm envious of you cooks, my husband does all the cooking, i do the cleaning up.

All I can do is use the toaster oven. I don't like using the mircowave.

[Catherine]

Maybe some day you will give cooking a try. It can be fun. I like making soup. There is something special about a homemade pot of soup. If you ever want a place to start, get a pot of soup going. You can't do it wrong. There is no right or wrong way to make soup. What ever goes into the soup pot comes out as soup. It is a great way to use up leftovers and it smells so good when it is cooking.

Now I am craving some soup and I think I have a leftover bowl in the frig that I just have to heat up. Yumm.

[Ruth]

Yes, soup is fairly easy to make. Just throw all the ingredients in at the right time and it comes out good. I forgot to get black beans at the store yesterday. That is my favorite soup to have/make.

[Catherine]

I am not sure which soup is my favourite. I like different soups at different times.  Carrot soup is special, but so is pumpkin soup.

I think a good fresh made chowder with something like corn or  mixed veggies with fresh baked biscuits, that is the best.

[Ruth]

I have never made carrot, pumpkin or chowder soup. They all sound delicious, though.

[Catherine]

Carrot soup has good flavour and it can be very different depending on what you add to it.  I have added ginger or hummus or even curie.  The year I added chopped tomato and broccoli it was a good soup. I do it different each time. Fresh lime and pepper with some butter gives the bowl a soup a nice touch.

Chowder is a cream based soup so once you have the base soup  made you can give it any flavour. Fresh corn cut off the cob makes a nice corn chowder.  Chopped red peppers make a pretty soup. I have even grated carrots and potatoes. I use what I have on hand. Again the soup is always different each time and that is the fun of it.

[Ruth]

Yes, the soups sound good! I have never made chowder. I always put a lot of carrots in my soups, though. I'll have to give those soups a try.

[Catherine]

I just had carrot soup for lunch. I added some hummus to make it creamy and sprinkled pepper, lime juice and a little butter on top. Very tasty and nourishing.
Soups can be a good base for a meal. I had a toasted English muffin with it, but a salad would have been good too.