If you’re anything like me, you hate wasting food.  I’ll admit I’m very strong on using my green bin and recycling so my tendencies are not create more waste than I need to. That’s why when I buy vegetables, like broccoli, tomatoes, celery or any kind of vegetable for that matter, I like to use as much of them as I can.

Most people will throw away the stems of broccoli or the leaves of celery but these all have the same, if not more, nutrients than the way we typically eat them.  When I buy broccoli, I will use the flowerets as a side dish but I always keep the stems because they are just as tasty and nutritious.  Also, my attitude is that I bought this so why shouldn’t I use every bit of it?

That’s where soups are perfect!  I make mine in my slow cooker.  Making soups are fun because you can use all the leftover vegetables you have in the fridge. You know, the stuff you would just get rid of?  I just experiment with it.  This weekend I made a soup using chicken broth, the stems of broccoli, and leftover parts of tomatoes (not including the icky parts, just the parts you can’t slice and put on a sandwich), kale, shallots and red pepper that would have been left to rot in my fridge.

I tasted it and realized it was missing something so I added some tomato juice and some cooked and shredded chicken thighs.  I also went through my freezer to see what needed to be used. Right next to my newly-bought bag of frozen peas was a bag that contained about half a cup of peas.  I then plopped them in too. 

Okay, so it’s no clam chowder or minestrone but it’s tasty none the less and chock full of really good stuff!

Soups were created for a reason!  They were made to use left overs and your favourite ingredients.  It’s all about experimenting.  Hey, I’ve cooked some pretty gourmet meals in my life but I still like to experiment and to be honest, I had a taste of my crazy soup concoction tonight and it was really good!  I can’t wait to enjoy it over the next few weeks!