Soup it Up !! :: Kitchen Chronicles

When I was a kid, the only Soup i knew about was mum's Tomato Soup in winters. The steaming bowl of hot soup on weekends was a special treat at dawn.  A few years later, there started TV commercials of Packet Soups like Knorr and Maggi. Somehow I never liked them much but I did not have patience to try something on my own so we used to have a lot of them in hostel. mmm.. those chilli winters, dark night, hostel room , few young girls, and that mix veg knorr soup.. now that was a combo made in heaven...

Anyways, even now I dont prepare much variety of soups at home. Apart from my fav Leek potato, Tomato and sometimes mushroom soup.. Had tried few more versions but they never turned out perfect, so I stuck to these flavours only. And now when Kalyani of Mom Chef offered me to host the event ''Soup It Up'', I was delighted for the reason of getting so many new recipes for my trials. yepeee !! 

Well, Food historians tell us the history of soup is probably as old as the history of cooking. The act of combining various ingredients in a large pot to create a nutritious, filling, easily digested, simple to make/serve food was inevitable. This made it the perfect choice for both sedentary and travelling cultures, rich and poor, healthy people and invalids. Ancient Greece is said to be the earliest nation to drink soup. It is believed that during the Olympics, each athlete is required to bring a calf or goat to the temple of Zeus. The animals were thrown in a huge pot and cooked as a ritual. The meat is then distributed to the non-athletes while the soup is distributed to the athletes for them to drink to increase their stamina. Hmmm !! Now thats interesting. 

New England chowder, Spanish gazpacho, Russian borscht, Italian minestrone, French onion, Chinese won ton and Campbell's tomato...are all variations on the same theme. You can find some variations here as well :

http://odyb.net/food-cooking/types-of-deliciously-famous-soups-of-the-world/

Some of  the Benefits of Soup are:

*Low in fat (specially saturated fat)

*Great for sick people and those who have trouble chewing, digesting or are recuperating from an illness.

*Miso soup and other soups made with soy can help lower the risk of breast cancer. In fact, a recent Japanese study showed that their level of breast cancer is about 10 times lower than in the West.

*Great during dieting periods or if you want to lose weight quickly for a special occasion. Do keep in mind that drinking lots of bowls of one specific broth (like cabbage) is unlikely to result in any more weight loss than drinking a variety of soups.

*Thick soups (especially those that contain pureed vegetables, béchamel sauce or eggs) can be used as main dishes and are a great way to get more veggies into your diet.

Rules are as below :

1) All kinds of soups & broths shall be accepted. Link to this announcment page & Kalyani's announcement is necessary

2) Any number of fresh entries are accepted, and maximum of two archived (but reposted and linked) entries are allowed

3) Any variety of Veg or Non-Veg entries are permitted except Pork and Beef. 

4) Event is from 2nd Feb - 29th Feb 2012, do mail me your entries at 

nupurs.kitchen@gmail.com

5) Usage of Logo is mandatory as it helps spread the word.
6) Non-bloggers are also welcome to send in their entries, please use the following format:
Name:
Blog:
URL:
Recipe URL:
Pic upto 400 pixels.:

So Ladies, fasten up your belts and do send me your entries for this warm and hearty event ..

Soup it up :)