Easy Vegetable Soup 101
I'm never going to lie to you and certainly am not starting tonight. This soup is one of my favorite meals to eat. (because its so easy and delicious.) 


I went to culinary school for a year and learned some useful, basic skills that can really improve your cooking! So I'll teach you all i know. deal. Lets start with soup.
This is an "anything you have in your fridge" kinda soup. aka anything goes! yahoo


1.) start with a good pot! (the last thing you want is a pot too small.. and the first thing they taught us in school is always know your equipment, and use the right stuff!)

2.) We want to build flavors and soften our vegetables. The best way to do that is on heat, with hot oil. (Any oil/ butter will do, i prefer simply olive.)


3.) Start with our aromatics which usually consist of onion and garlic (these are the base to our flavor building, when you have these on hand, always use em! they work with many dishes to start the flavor off right! aromatics= aroma= good smelling, yummy flavor!) 


4.)Once these are minced, throw them into the hot oil and let them sweat (sweat= turn translucent without getting too much color from the heat. You might need to turn down your burner, or pull pot off the heat for a while to achieve this!) 


--Tip: your garlic WANTS to burn, I always remember my chef telling me this. Garlic is so tasty because it has lots of natural sugar in it, so whenever your using it make sure to watch it carefully and/or remove from heat if needed. Light brown is the desire. Too brown will make your garlic bitter! 


5.) After those beauties are getting soften, throw your other veggies in. (I used broccoli, brussle sprouts, canned whole tomatoes, and potatoes ( carrots and celery are great too!) and cut these into bite size pieces while the onion and garlic were working. Multi tasking is keyyy)
- Everyone cooks soup differently, but I just like getting all my veggies and flavors dancing together with the heat. It also just jump starts the softening process before we add the broth. 


--Tip: Don't be afraid to season you food ever! And season as you go! At this point I am fearlessly adding my salt and black pepper in. (no one likes bland food) Also taste your soup as you make it! This will allow your tongue to learn and you to get your soup to the desired seasoning you want. 
-- One warning with seasoning soup!!! (I know this because I've made this mistake before) Don't season all the way yet because once you add your broth to the soup is is always reducing (meaning liquid is evaporating). So just be careful, you can always add more, but never take away! (wheww got that off my chest :) )


6.) Simple from here on out. Your veggies are softening and happy, so add your stock or broth at this point. (I use a simple chicken stock if i have it, or water) Cover the veggies and let simmer until the veggies are cooked through to how you like them. ( if you want pasta in your soup, either boil separately and add at the end, or stick them in raw while your veggies are still al dente!) 
Also add more s+p at this point or any other herbs you want!! 


7.) Pair this with a grill cheese, and your ready to rock. 


-- Sorry this is very detailed for such a simple soup, but hopefully the little tips help you in the future!