I just read that January was National Soup month. With all of the cold weather, soup is a meal that you fix in one pot, so it is easy. Oh, I do get other pans dirty along the way as I brown the meat and/or onions and garlic. I just get those dishes done before it is time to eat.

My love of soup goes back a long way. My grandmother did not make soup very often. Every once in a while, she made a type of vegetable soup and sometimes she made beef stew with a tomato base. I really liked the stew. We did not have it often enough to suit me.

I remember Grandma Swanson often made chili on Friday nights during the years that my husband and I were dating. She would whip it up after she returned from grocery shopping with my sister-in-law. It was a meal that everyone enjoyed. It kept until the men were done with their chores.

When I wrote my first cookbook, I included an easy chili recipe that goes together quickly. Grandma used to make it in her electric frying pan. I can still see that nice round pan. The electric frying pan that I have is not as big as hers, so I usually opt for my stock pot instead.

I probably make more kinds of soup than my mother-in-law did. Almost every weekend during the winter, while I was working, I made a pot of soup so that there would be leftovers for supper during the work week. While the soup was the main course, I always made something starchy to serve with it to round out the meal. I have never been a fan of corn bread, but since some of the family liked it I made some every once in a while. Sometimes I made garlic toast. Other times, I made homemade bread or biscuits. Sometimes we just ate crackers with peanut butter or cheese.

When the children were young, they were not thrilled with the soup that I made. They tolerated it because they had no choice, but it was not a favorite meal except to my husband and me. Now the children welcome a pot of soup. If I mix up a batch, I share it plus put some into the freezer. That makes a quick meal for me another time. One of the grandsons loves homemade soup. He would rather eat that than almost anything else. He even eats leftovers for breakfast at times. The other two tolerate the chicken noodle soup, but do not like the vegetable soup or chili.

Years ago, when I entertained, I was told that the children probably would not particularly like the chili. When I served it, they all ate. I use tomato sauce or I squeeze up the tomatoes so that there won’t be chunks of them. I found out that was what they did not like about their mother’s variety of chili. Since we often had our own pork, I frequently used ground pork in my chili. I even used ground venison if I happened to have some.

I am always experimenting. When we went to the sort of new Italian restaurant in town, they had a chicken gnocchi soup. The children said it was very good. I asked if it had cheese or some special spice. They assured it me it was simply a creamy soup with chicken, gnocchi and a few vegetables.

As you might have guessed, I tried my hand at it. When I shared it with the Swanson family, they told me I did a good job. I actually used part of a leftover rotisserie chicken, so it was easy.

ANN’S CHICKEN

GNOCCHI SOUP

Make a sauce using 4 T. butter, 4 T. flour. Cook until the flour taste is gone. Add 2 cups of chicken broth. Stir until it begins to thicken. Add one can of a creamed soup such as cream of chicken, cream of celery, or cream of mushroom. Add milk or broth until the soup is the consistency that your family likes. Grate in carrots and some celery cut in small pieces. Cook until the vegetables are tender. Add 2 cups of cooked chicken cut into bite-sized pieces. Add gnocchi. Heat until everything is warmed through, and then serve.

(Be sure that your chicken is well seasoned.)

Gnocchi

6 medium potatoes1 egg yolk

1 tsp. salt c. flour

Boil potatoes in small quantity of water. Drain. Rice or simply chop up potatoes with a masher. Allow to cool. On floured surface, work in flour using your hands. Shape into a long roll. Cut into small pieces. Drop them into boiling water and cook until they rise to the top. Add them to soup just before serving.

The thing that I like best about homemade soup is that you have full control of all of the ingredients. Cooking from scratch really is the best bet health wise. By purchasing low sodium broth, your soup will not be loaded with sodium. Be sure that you taste your soup along the way though to be sure that it is well seasoned. Since you added vegetables, you may need to add salt and pepper.

Another trick that I figured out is that if you use quinoa or barley, it makes a heartier soup. It does not change the flavor profile at all.

I have been employing these methods for years. If your soup gets too salty, try adding a couple of potatoes or a couple stalks of celery. Remove them when the taste is right.

As Julia Childs used to say “Bon Appetite”!

Ann Swanson writes from her home in Russell, Pa. Contact at hickoryheights1@verizon. net.