Ha, I love this. I've been making a lot of soup recipes for my blog this winter, and I keep fighting myself about adding "or more, to your taste" after every ingredient. At one point, I'm like, why am I even writing a recipe? Isn't EVERYTHING in soup "to your taste"??? I should just provide a list of ingredients and be like "you do you" for the method. 🤣 because it's so true. Soup is soup...it will get there eventually, and it's okay to add in whatever you want.
It was timely to see your writing on this topic pop up today! I am the volunteer leader for a cooking club for elementary and middle school students and today we are having a chili cookoff. I bought a wide variety of different ingredients for my young chefs to experiment with and they will go into this venture without a recipe. The recipe will be all their own with a bit of guidance from me. It will be an adventure for sure and one I hope will empower them to all look beyond the cookbook for that is where real true cooking happens.
Chili is the perfect gateway to recipe-free soupmaking. I love that you're doing this for the kids! They will gain so much confidence, which is what it's really all about.
Hear hear for recipeless cooking! I consider cleaning out the fridge without waste, while getting compliments from my family, my souperpower! Do I miss sometimes? Sure! But on the whole I’m happy with my efforts.
irony: WHILE I was working on this post, I was making soup. Tried said soup last night and it tasted…weird. It wasn’t a recipe fail, I don’t think…it’s a little bit bitter which makes me wonder if I had the heat up too high while making the stock. I’ve made lots and lots of successful stock, so I’m going to chalk this one up to a less-than-happy accident, and continue on with my recipe-free ways. (My husband claims he cannot taste the bitterness and so he’s eating the soup without complaint, lol. Still a souperpower!)
Oh I love this!! I used to think I’d never be able to make soup without a recipe, and then all of sudden many years later you find yourself adding a little of this and that and it becomes your own. The only ingredient I’m missing for making many soups these days is time it seems. This inspires as there’s celery calling my name from the fridge!
Loved this, Meagan! All of your soups look delicious! I’m with you-I read a recipe over and over again, and often miss a step or underestimate how long it will take. Love your encouragement to just trust yourself, and not put so much pressure on ourselves!
Your soups all look so good! I'm admittedly someone who thinks they need a recipe for (almost) everything. But I love your encouragement here that it's *just* soup.
Definitely no crime in consulting a recipe! But at some point, it's so freeing just to let go and let your knowledge of ESSENTIAL SOUPNESS take over...you really can't screw it up. Or at least, you'd have to work pretty hard at it. :)
Haha! Last week, I was making beef stew (from a recipe), and I was reading along carefully (or at least, I thought I was), and then I somehow managed to skip a whole step! I was so annoyed with myself. It still turned out okay, so it wasn’t a total wash. ;)
I often feel like the more carefully I follow along, the more likely I am to skip something! I think it’s because the critical part of my brain shuts off when I’m just following directions.
Loved your post. In addition to frugal, it's also sustainable to use up what you have. My friend once brought me some soup after I had a baby and I asked her for the recipe. She said she doesn't use a recipe to make soup and that was her superpower. Loved this and started making my own no-recipe soup.
Soup is my favorite thing to make, and you are so right that no recipe is needed! I like a brothy soup with whatever veggies I have on hand, a handful of rice or barley, some shredded cheese at the bottom of my bowl, and often some harissa or chili oil to spice it up. (Actually, flavored oils can add a lot to soup--chili, truffle, and sesame are my faves to drizzle on at the end.)
Ha, I love this. I've been making a lot of soup recipes for my blog this winter, and I keep fighting myself about adding "or more, to your taste" after every ingredient. At one point, I'm like, why am I even writing a recipe? Isn't EVERYTHING in soup "to your taste"??? I should just provide a list of ingredients and be like "you do you" for the method. 🤣 because it's so true. Soup is soup...it will get there eventually, and it's okay to add in whatever you want.
It was timely to see your writing on this topic pop up today! I am the volunteer leader for a cooking club for elementary and middle school students and today we are having a chili cookoff. I bought a wide variety of different ingredients for my young chefs to experiment with and they will go into this venture without a recipe. The recipe will be all their own with a bit of guidance from me. It will be an adventure for sure and one I hope will empower them to all look beyond the cookbook for that is where real true cooking happens.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful words today!
Chili is the perfect gateway to recipe-free soupmaking. I love that you're doing this for the kids! They will gain so much confidence, which is what it's really all about.
I’ve been reading your writing since 2010 and this is in my top five things you’ve ever written. 🤍
Hear hear for recipeless cooking! I consider cleaning out the fridge without waste, while getting compliments from my family, my souperpower! Do I miss sometimes? Sure! But on the whole I’m happy with my efforts.
irony: WHILE I was working on this post, I was making soup. Tried said soup last night and it tasted…weird. It wasn’t a recipe fail, I don’t think…it’s a little bit bitter which makes me wonder if I had the heat up too high while making the stock. I’ve made lots and lots of successful stock, so I’m going to chalk this one up to a less-than-happy accident, and continue on with my recipe-free ways. (My husband claims he cannot taste the bitterness and so he’s eating the soup without complaint, lol. Still a souperpower!)
Oh I love this!! I used to think I’d never be able to make soup without a recipe, and then all of sudden many years later you find yourself adding a little of this and that and it becomes your own. The only ingredient I’m missing for making many soups these days is time it seems. This inspires as there’s celery calling my name from the fridge!
Loved this, Meagan! All of your soups look delicious! I’m with you-I read a recipe over and over again, and often miss a step or underestimate how long it will take. Love your encouragement to just trust yourself, and not put so much pressure on ourselves!
Your soups all look so good! I'm admittedly someone who thinks they need a recipe for (almost) everything. But I love your encouragement here that it's *just* soup.
Definitely no crime in consulting a recipe! But at some point, it's so freeing just to let go and let your knowledge of ESSENTIAL SOUPNESS take over...you really can't screw it up. Or at least, you'd have to work pretty hard at it. :)
Haha! Last week, I was making beef stew (from a recipe), and I was reading along carefully (or at least, I thought I was), and then I somehow managed to skip a whole step! I was so annoyed with myself. It still turned out okay, so it wasn’t a total wash. ;)
I often feel like the more carefully I follow along, the more likely I am to skip something! I think it’s because the critical part of my brain shuts off when I’m just following directions.
Loved your post. In addition to frugal, it's also sustainable to use up what you have. My friend once brought me some soup after I had a baby and I asked her for the recipe. She said she doesn't use a recipe to make soup and that was her superpower. Loved this and started making my own no-recipe soup.
I LOVE the idea of making soups without recipes as a superpower. Or "souperpower".
Isn't it freeing to drop the recipe and just soup?
Yesssss!
Soup is my favorite thing to make, and you are so right that no recipe is needed! I like a brothy soup with whatever veggies I have on hand, a handful of rice or barley, some shredded cheese at the bottom of my bowl, and often some harissa or chili oil to spice it up. (Actually, flavored oils can add a lot to soup--chili, truffle, and sesame are my faves to drizzle on at the end.)
Yumm. YES to flavored oils. And cheese in the bottom of the bowl is the best idea.