HINTS FROM HELOISE
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
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
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 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. 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-meup in the afternoon.
— Jeri Y., Washington, D.C. JERI, THAT SOUNDS like a terrific idea, and you don’t waste any coffee.
— Heloise
SEND A GREAT HINT TO: Heloise
P.O. Box 795000
San Antonio, TX 78279-5000 Fax: (210) HELOISE
Email: Heloise@Heloise.com