by Kylie Purr

There is a wonderful meal ingredient called soup mix. It is a mix of beans, lentils and barley, and comes in a half kilo bag for about 90c. I was thinking today, as I planned what I would cook for the next few days, that there are several takes on the soup mix (it was sunny out today, and thinking of food added to the warmth of my skin, and I smiled). For using soups mix, there are a few essentials that remain constant no matter who the cook is.

- It must be soaked overnight/all day. The beans, lentils and barley are dried, so need soaking to soften them up. Make sure you rinse them before using them.

- You only need about half a packet at a time, really. This would still feed you for a coupla days, or provide for several people in one sitting.

My take on soup mix.

First I soften some onion in a pot, over low heat, with some margarine (Nuttelex). Then I just whack everything in: soup mix (softened), diced potato and vegetable stock. Stock can be bought in cubes at the supermarket - just dissolve 2 or so in a few cups of water: I'm not an exact cook, I'm a bucket scientist! You need enough water to cover the other stuff you already have in your pot. You can also add other veggies if you like. Put the lid on, bring to the boil and then let it simmer/boil away on a low heat for an hour or so.

You end up with a vegetable stew kinda set up, that is delicious.

My mate's take on soup mix.

I'm not sure of the technical order, but to his soup mix and onions, he adds potato and tomato paste and water. So you get this red, thick soup. Once the potato is soft, he puts the masher right there in the pot and mashes it all up. So there are no potato chunks, its a thick soup. Gives it a great hearty taste.

My mate also cooks me this ace thing for any meal - I've never been with someone who cooks stuff for me, and has the same simple tastes as me, I love it when he cooks for me. Anyhow, he fries up onion and mushroom in a frying pan, and simply adds garlic, sesame seeds and soy sauce. TASTE SENSATION! We eat it on toast, and I always want more, but there is no more....

Today I had a slab of tofu, friend with onions and put onto a bread roll dripping with hommous. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm....soon, I will eat a Peanut Butter Cup choco bar - love that salty chocolate!

Kylie Purr is a celebrity, organiser of festivals, creator of catPOUNCE zine and plays a pink sparkly guitar. She has recently moved to Newcastle, Australia with her cat named Deanna.

<< back to celebrity chef
<< back to Loobylu home