A soup that’s ready for more
Dear Heloise: You had a generic cream soup recipe that my mother always made. She’d throw all sorts of things into this recipe — leftover chicken, peas, carrots or whatever she had on hand — but she always used your Generic Cream Soup recipe as a base. Would you reprint that for me? — Bonnie K., Providence, R.I.
Bonnie, here it is:
GENERIC CREAM SOUP
1 cup nonfat dried milk
powder
1 tablespoon dried onion
flakes
2 tablespoons cornstarch 2 tablespoons chicken
bouillon powder
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Mix all ingredients and store in an airtight container. To make the soup base, add 2 cups cold water to the mixture in a large saucepan and STIR CONSTANTLY over medium heat until thick. You can use this base to make any flavor cream soup — just add your main ingredients to the mix. This makes about 4 to 6 cups of soup, depending on what you toss in. There’s nothing like a bowl of steaming-hot soup on a chilly day to make you feel warm and cozy.
If you like this recipe, I have more in my pamphlet Spectacular Soups. To get a copy, just send $5, along with a stamped (70 cents), self-addressed, long envelope, to: Heloise/Soups, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001. And don’t forget to include a delicious bread with your meal, and maybe a small tossed salad for a healthy, satisfying lunch or dinner. — Heloise
Oops!
Dear Readers: If you accidentally add too much salt to a soup, put a piece of sliced, peeled apple or potato in the pot. It will absorb the salt. Take it out before serving. A small bit of brown sugar also can help correct too much salt.
Put too much garlic in your soup? Put a few parsley flakes into a tea ball and drop into the soup to soak up the excess. — Heloise
Banana bonus
Dear Heloise: I just read the hint in your column in The Palm Beach (Fla.) Post about putting bananas in the refrigerator. I have another tip: I put my bananas in my food processor and puree them. I then freeze them in freezer bags in 1-cup increments. When I’m ready to make banana bread, I remove what I need from the freezer, thaw and use in my recipe. — Karen V., Boynton Beach, Fla.
Chilled coffee idea
Dear Heloise: Very often, I won’t finish all the coffee in the morning pot, so I pour the rest into my cup, add sweetener and milk, and refrigerate it for later. It’s a pick-me-up in the afternoon. — Jeri Y., Washington, D.C.
Jeri, that sounds like a terrific idea, and you don’t waste any coffee. — Heloise
Smelly ice bin
Dear Heloise: I just moved in, and the ice bin smells stale. How do I get the smell out? — Dava, via iPhone
Dava, first pour some vinegar on a sponge and try cleaning the interior. You also might want to sprinkle some baking soda inside and scrub with the vinegar-soaked sponge to kill the odors.
— Heloise
Household Hints