Soups

It's hardly news that a pot of soup goes a long way, but seriously, it really, really does. Case in point: It's been almost two weeks since I made a large and very cost-effective pot of asparagus and leek soup, and I've just now finished it. Granted, I consumed the leftovers with other things (bread, cheese, olives, salads) and made other food in the meantime, but it's still amazing that a pot of soup can stretch so far (so long? so well?). And it was delicious. (Thank you for that, Jamie Oliver.)

Also, the original pot of soup was shared with two friends. This means that it would have stretched even farther if it was made for one or two people. I don't necessarily recommend not sharing food, though. In fact, I feel strongly about sharing food even and especially when money isn't quite flowing (or "rolling", as my mother-in-law says).

Something amazing about lots of soups, by the way (and if you don't already know this), is that they get better the longer they sit in the fridge. The flavors combine, the color becomes richer, and depending what's in the soup, it becomes thicker and creamier. The wonderful thing about the pot of asparagus and leek soup is that the most expensive ingredient in the soup was the asparagus, which was not expensive, especially because it's currently in season in Ontario. Even bunches of organic asparagus are cheap (around $3 or $4 for ~12 stalks) right now. Cheese is wildly expensive in Ontario, which is very unfortunate for cheese extremists like myself, but I bought a small nine-dollar wedge of parmesan to grate and add to the soup once it "went to plate". Because I only used the cheese with the soup, it too managed to last for a very long time.

Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of said soup to share, but as I get the hang of this blogging thing, I'll be better about remembering to take pictures of ways I'm big scrimpin'.