The many uses of broth

The last time I cooked my pasta I kept the water I used to cook it. For my late lunch I made it into a thick soup. What was in it? When I boiled pasta I put some seasoning and spices to the water aside from the usual salt and oil. So I recycle it for broth.

So my lunch was just soup (I had a fantastic dinner from South Asia - Bhutan, Nepal and Pakistan) and again a dinner out tonite with friends so I just had soup for brunch. The consistency of the broth was quite thick so from the other broth stock of mushroom, chicken and shrimp I added it to my pasta broth. Added some boiled potatoes, a fist-full of some frozen mixed rice-beans, spaghetti strands cut in smaller size, a piece of egg some seasoning - there I had a filling thick soup.

If you are too lazy to make new soup - boiled veggies and some food stuff to create a broth. It will always be handy to make soup anytime. Just freeze it or stock in the ref and make use of it whenever you want a soup - keeping in mind creativity and experimentation so you come up with a new variety for your original broth.

So what wikipedia says about broth:

Broth [brɒθ] is a liquid food preparation, typically consisting of either water or an already flavored stock, in which bones, meat, fish, cereal grains, or vegetables have beensimmered.^[1] Broth is used as a basis for other edible liquids such as soup, gravy, orsauce. It can be eaten alone or with garnish. If other ingredients are used, such as rice,pearl barley or oats, it is then generally called soup.

In Britain, a broth is defined^{[by whom?]} as a soup in which there are solid pieces of meat or fish, along with some vegetables. A broth is usually made with a stock or plain water as its base, with meat or fish added while being brought to a boil, and vegetables added later. Being a thin and watery soup, broth is frequently made more substantial by adding rice, barley or pulses.^[2][3] Broth is distinct from stock, which is a thin liquid made by simmering raw ingredients until all the taste has been retrieved from them, then sieving the resulting liquid.

United States cooking schools often differentiate between broth, usually made from portions of animal meat, and stock often made from vegetable scraps and bones.

Broth has been made for many years using the animal bones which, traditionally, are boiled in a cooking pot for long periods to extract the flavour and nutrients. The bones may or may not have meat still on them.

When it is necessary to clarify a broth (i.e. for a cleaner presentation), egg whites may be added during simmering – the egg whites willcoagulate, trapping sediment and turbidity into a readily strainable mass.

In East Asia (particularly Japan), a form of kelp called kombu is often used as the basis for broths (called dashi in Japanese).

Oatmeal Soup - Light meal for Lazy Cook

According to Wikipedia:

Oatmeal is ground oat groats (i.e. oat-meal, cf. cornmeal, peasemeal, etc.), or a porridge made from oats (also called oatmeal cereal or stirabout, in Ireland). Oatmeal can also be ground oat, steel-cut oats, crushed oats, or rolled oats.

Aside from having it for breakfast I discovered that it can be made into soup. A good friend of mine introduced it to me one time we had a nice lunch together. She's an artist and creative as well with her dishes. She made me this soupy oatmeal soup with some nice green veggies. Well since oatmeal tends to become thick what she did was to put only small amount of oatmeal in a large amount of water, some seasoning and the veggie toppings. Thus, the soup got its thick and rich flavor.

Since then I do not use my oatmeal as a breakfast (with muesli) but also as a soup dish for other meals. Well when I fast and would like to do so dieting it is a good alternative for my rice eating habit. I have tried lots of soup using oatmeal be it thick soup or the light and thinner soup that goes with other dishes. I surprise myself every time I come up with some nice oatmeal dish/soup concoctions. I have not noted those recipes though. But I will come up with new discovery soon.

Well I can also bake good oatmeal cookies plain, with choco, with raisins but that's when I am inspired and not too lazy. Oatmeal is a lazy cook's fast, delicious and nutritious alternative soup or light meal.

Do let me know if you have tried one and have recipe to share.