Has anyone made a soup mix from home-dried veggies and herbs?

[freemotion]

Farmerlor's recent post of this great site http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/ got me thinking about drying veggies. They have a great factsheet on drying vegetables. Haven't done it other than tomatoes. I know that you can buy soup mixes with a few measley dried veggies in them....has anyone made soup from primarily dried veggies? How is it?

Would it be worthwhile to make up a few "mixes" of dried veggies and flavorings as emergency soup mixes...maybe add a jar of home-canned broth and/or meat, or some beans, to make it heartier. My goal is ALL homegrown or dried, only adding salt and pepper. Or maybe throw in some pearled barley or brown rice at cooking time to extend it.

If no one has done it, I'd really appreciate some input from anyone who has dried some veggies, and how you think it might work out, maybe some possible do's and don't's. Maybe we can brainstorm and come up with a plan for making up some mixes over the coming spring and summer with stuff from the garden.

Gotta plan this project in advance, since here in New England, we will be getting the first chives and scallions before we know it! Could they be my first ingredients?

 

[gettinaclue]

FM, what a great idea!

I'm sorry to say I have no input here, but can't wait to see what happens!

 

[Wifezilla]

I don't see why you can't do it. Dried onion would be a pretty important ingredient. It provided a lot of flavor in dried soup mixes.

I found this on that site...
Pumpkin Leather
# 2 cups canned pumpkin or 2 cups fresh pumpkin, cooked and pured
# 1/2 cup honey
# 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
# 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
# 1/8 teaspoon powdered cloves

Blend ingredients well. Spread on tray or cookie sheet lined with plastic wrap. Dry at 140F.

Very interesting!

 

[ORChick]

I have dried tomatoes, celery, corn, mushrooms, and lots of herbs. I wouldn't personally dry chives (or parsley, or a couple of other herbs) because, IMO, they don't taste like much when they are dried. But I do dry onions and garlic. I prefer to keep all of these in separate glass jars, rather than mix them up, as I have more freedom to pick and choose that way - but that is just my choice. I think dried mushrooms are a necessity in a well stocked pantry, and if you google "Shaker dried corn" you'll find lots of ideas on how the Amish use it. I've never made anything *primarily* from dried veggies (except pea soup), but I often add some to dishes.

 

[SKR8PN]

WE dry some of our tomatoes, mushrooms, celery, onions, carrots, beans and a few potatoes. We use a lot of them in soups, but we have never made a soup from nothing but dried veggies. We always start out with either a chicken or beef stock and build from there, depending on our mood at the time. ALL of our soups are all made with home grown stuff, with very little if anything from the store added. Chicken is the only thing we have to buy right now. Our pork and beef is all from neighbors and is all natural.

 

[keljonma]

I make this soup from our home produced/home dehydrated veggies.

MINESTRONE

4 tsp. bouillon granules
1/2 cup dried chopped onion
1/2 tsp. dried minced garlic
1/2 cup dried navy beans
1/2 tsp. dried oregano (rosemary, thyme, basil, tarragon, dill or combination)
2 bay leaves
6 peppercorns
1 cup dried sliced or diced tomatoes
1 cup dried sliced celery
1 cup dried sliced or diced carrot
2 cup dried sliced green beans
2 Tbsp. dried diced green pepper
1 tsp. salt (optional or more or less to taste)

Combine ingredients and store in tightly covered container.

TO USE: Add to 4 quarts boiling water and simmer over low heat 2 to 3 hours, until beans are tender. Remove bay leaves and peppercorns before serving. Serves 8 to 10.

If storing in the pantry as a combined soup mix, add a note to the container on how to make soup.

Dried pasta can be added, if desired.


edited for spelling/typo

 

[me&thegals]

I knew we could count on keljonma!

Can anybody comment on the difference in taste and texture of rehydrated soups versus soup made from frozen veggies?

 

[keljonma]

I use both dehydrated and frozen veggies and fruits. There are some veggies I really don't like frozen at all (green beans is one).

I personally think the frozen veggies are best left for the days when time is short and you need to make something quickly. (A get home at 5 and need dinner by 5:30-5:45 to be someplace by 6 kind of day.)

 

[freemotion]

Perfect, keljonma!!!! Thank you!!!

Becoming a purist in my old age, I will just leave out the bullion (MSG) and use home-canned broth in its place. Wouldn't a bit of leftover ham be good in that soup? Mmmmm.... Gotta learn to cure my own meats, too. Ham's made with chemicals, too. Gonna raid mom's recipes soon.

And yes, I would like to hear from someone who uses dried veggies, too. I use some tomatos in a stir-fry and they are wonderfully chewy, but that is a quicker cooking (after a short soak in boiling water.)

eta: Ooops, posted at the same time as keljonma.....what is the texture like?

 

[keljonma]

Perfect, keljonma!!!! Thank you!!!

Becoming a purist in my old age, I will just leave out the bullion (MSG) and use home-canned broth in its place. Wouldn't a bit of leftover ham be good in that soup? Mmmmm.... Gotta learn to cure my own meats, too. Ham's made with chemicals, too. Gonna raid mom's recipes soon.

And yes, I would like to hear from someone who uses dried veggies, too. I use some tomatos in a stir-fry and they are wonderfully chewy, but that is a quicker cooking (after a short soak in boiling water.)

eta: Ooops, posted at the same time as keljonma.....what is the texture like?

freemotion, the Amish store near us sells bouillon granules without MSG. But if I am out, I put all the mix together without the bouillon, and add frozen stock when putting the soup together.

In stir fries, I use frozen not dehydrated veggies. Just habit I guess. I like the dehydrated veggies in soup because the cooking time is longer and so the veggies soften and the flavors blend nicely.

My dh reminded me that I also have used barley, rice and bulgur in this soup recipe.