You're not canning this are you??? Hope not! No dairy for canning. It got me to thinking though..... Can you can broccoli? If you wanted to use it for cream soups, the texture wouldn't matter, right? The "cream" part could be done later, but what about just broccoli and maybe onion in chicken broth? Susan, have you tried googling for canning recipes for soups? KatieC's roasted garlic soup is fantastic!! I will buy tomatoes this year to can this if I don't get enough!! I did mine in pints and could just grab a jar and take it to work with me. Here's the recipe: Roasted Tomato Garlic Soup (2006, YUM!!! my note) Recipe By :Katie C 12 tomatoes -- *see Note 2 carrots -- cut in 1" pieces 1 large onion -- quartered 2 whole heads garlic -- peeled (or more, to taste) olive oil 2 cups chicken broth -- (or 3) 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil -- (or 1 Tbsp. dried) cream -- to taste DO NOT CAN WITH CREAM. Core tomatoes and cut in half. Place, cut side up, on foil covered cookie sheet with carrots, onion and garlic. Brush with olive oil. Bake at 400F for about an hour, or until vegies are roasted and a little blackened. Place in a large saucepan with the chicken broth and basil and simmer for about 10 minutes. Blend with a stick blender (or in small batches in a blender) until almost smooth. Add cream to taste. To can: Process in a pressure canner, pints for 60 min. and quarts for 70 min.For dial gauge canners use 11 pounds pressure at 0-2000 ft., 12 lbs. at 2001-4000 ft., 13 lbs. at 4001-6000 ft. and 14 lbs. above 6000 ft. For weighted gauge canners use 10 lbs. pressure at 0-1000 ft., and 15 lbs. over 1000 ft. *Note: These measurements are approximate...I use whatever it takes to cover the cookie sheet. This makes 1 1/2 to 2 quarts of soup. Note from Annie: I didn't have a stick blender so I just put the veggies through my Foley food mill after roasting them. It worked great. Deanna

Ok, ladies of the gardens, (and kitchens), let's let it ALL hang out now and go for it! We've worked all spring, summer and fall, and now it's time to talk cooking! And enjoying the fruits, (or veggies) of our labors. Like the rest of you, fall is the time when I love to get in the kitchen and cook, filling the house with wonderful smells. That's one of the reason I love Oklahoma, the change of seasons. Fall just brings with it, a change in the feeling of things as we change from one mode to another. It's time for soups, and stews, and baking breads, pies, muffins and biscuits,( slathered with butter and jam or jelly of choice). Tonight, I'm making, more for DS than me, chicken and biscuits. Only I make the biscuits separate, so they don't get soggy baking in the oven with the liquid part of the concoction. Then, he splits them once done and ladles the chicken "gravy" over all. Of course there are a hundred variations on the theme, and I've tried most all of them at one time or another, but that's what's on the menu tonight. I came across this blog and started reading. Great stuff, you can tell these ladies, (and guy) know their way around a biscuit. The one moniker cracked me up, "Old ladies in Fist Fights". Anyway, they were discussing the pros and cons of biscuit making. I am making mine ala Carol's, by the BIG BATCH, with the exception that I use butter. I keep my batch in the fridge or even freezer to keep the butter cold and fresh. I do mine a little different that those discussed in this blog. I melt a large batch of butter in the microwave, and then cool and put it in the freezer til it's ice cold and solid. Then, I work in the cold butter bits, one half at a time, to coat the self-rising flour mixture, to prevent as much gluten from forming as possible. Everythings done with the lightest touch possible and the least mixing. When the biscuits are patted out and cut, in this case, "Cat Head" biscuits, I dip them in melted butter, and pop them in a preheated 450 degree oven til nice and golden. I always make buttermilk biscuits, buttermilk pancakes, buttermilk cornbread, and as often as possible. Carol's method makes this painless. I suppose we could make many of our standard quick bread mixes this way. Salute Carol! Ladies, start your engines, (I mean ovens)! Barbara Here is a link that might be useful: Joes's Biscuit Blog

A bit late to the party but next time check the temp of your crock pot liquids after it gets going a hour in. Could be way too low to actually get all the flavors melding together. Even at such a long cooking time. May not be hot enough or safe enough. Starting a mirepoix in a saute pan with celery including the leaves and parsley stems till soft, then adding your stock will get things going and up to a good temp. As mentioned above a mirepoix is very finely diced. You can add larger chopped veggies like in your recipe right into the crock pot for texture and a chunkier soup. (doubling the veggies in your recipe) Diced squash or sweet potatoes or lentils will add some good flavor. Some spices added to your mirepoix will also add flavor early on. Spices bloom in heat. Celery, mustard, cumin seeds, etc. toasted and ground fresh...and the mentioned mushrooms. Some people/cultures just don't like spice and some seem to use 50% spice. I've had some curries out that seem like more spice than food. Your recipe creator probably uses the same herbal tea bag a dozen times. We could all contribute to the unwritten book, "The Chef and the Salt Shaker". I have to eat out a bit because of work. A decent lunch spot has a good sweet potato fry. But the chef adds so much salt, cinnamon and sugar like kicked sand at the beach. I ask for it not to be used but the chef forgets. The waitress always says, "yeah, nobody likes it. I get allot of complaints." So we don't go there and found a little French place that makes wonderful soups and 1/2 sandwiches. I don't use my crock pot that often. Just for caramelizing a big load of onions and chili when i'm home and need the extra cooktop and oven space. Chili means pasta sauce, lasagna, and a beef stew all going at the same time in sept/oct using up crates of garden harvest. Mine is too unpredictable. Slow to heat up, then boils away. I start on high, then have to babysit it and turn down to low at some unknown time. I could never leave it on and walk away all day. Then we also have the odd random day where electronics are blinking when we get home meaning a power outage. This past fall i started slow roasting my cheaper roast type meats, cut into 2inch cubes, pre-heating my oven to 350, then down to 225 when the meat goes in on a grid rack over a sheet pan for 45 min-1 hour. That way i can move on to prepping the mirepoix and chopping the rest of the veggies, without the daunting task of browning the meat in batches on the stovetop that always wants to steam and release liquids anyway. And the spatter mess. Still lots of flavor that way.

How about a broccoli cheese?....just add steamed broccoli florets to this recipe....or leave out the broccoli....or a carrot soup?...or roasted red pepper...I think you need something with assertive color. Recipes included....scroll down. Cheddar Cheese soup 1/2 cup onion chopped very fine 1/2 cup celery chopped very fine 1/2 cup shredded carrots Melt 1/2 a stick of butter in a heavy pot and sautee veggies. When they are no longer crisp but not brown, add 4 T flour Stir and cook about 1 minute and add 1 qt chicken broth, slowly whisking so there are no lumps cook at a simmer 15 to 20 minutes. Mix: 1/4 cup ( or if you really like a thick soup 1/2 cup) AP flour with 2 cups cold milk until smooth. Slowly add to cooking soup. Simmer for 5 or 6 minutes to thicken and cook the flour.Add: 1 Tsp worchestershire sauce pinch cayenne pepper of a couple of dashes of Tobasco. Add: 8 oz grated sharp chedder cheese...and heat and stir until smooth...do NOT boil! Serve! LESLIE'S RED PEPPER SOUP "My husband and I spent a weekend in Mendocino, and one evening out we were served a red pepper soup," says Leslie Cohen of Loomis, California. "Not being a red pepper aficionado, I was surprised at how delicious the soup was and vowed to replicate the recipe." Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr 6 large red bell peppers 2 onions, chopped 1/2 stick unsalted butter 8 cups chicken stock or low-salt broth 1/2 to 1 teaspoon dried herbes de Provence 1 to 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh tarragon Dash of cayenne Accompaniment: sour cream Preheat broiler. Quarter peppers lengthwise, discarding stems, seeds, and ribs. Put skin sides up on rack of a broiler pan, and broil about 2 inches from heat until skins are blistered and charred, 8 to 12 minutes. Transfer peppers to a bowl and let stand, covered with plastic wrap, until cool enough to handle. Peel peppers and thinly slice. Cook onions in butter in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over moderately low heat, covered, stirring occasionally, until soft. Stir in peppers, stock, and herbes de Provence and simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes. Pur�e soup in a blender in batches (use caution when blending hot liquids). For a smoother texture, force pur�e through a food mill into a large bowl. Return soup to pot and season with salt, tarragon, and cayenne. Reheat soup. Cooks' note: � Peppers can be roasted 2 days ahead and chilled, covered. Serves 6 to 8 (10 1/2 cups) Gourmet October 1999 Ginger Carrot Soup 2 tablespoons sweet cream butter 2 onions, peeled and chopped 6 cups chicken broth 2 pounds carrots, peeled and sliced 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger 1 cup whipping cream Salt and white pepper Sour cream Parsley sprigs, for garnish In a 6-quart pan, over medium high heat, add butter and onions and cook, stirring often, until onions are limp. Add broth, carrots, and ginger. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until carrots are tender when pierced. Remove from heat and transfer to a blender. Don't fill the blender more than half way, do it in batches if you have to. Cover the blender and then hold a kitchen towel over the top of the blender*. Be careful when blending hot liquids as the mixture can spurt out of the blender. Pulse the blender to start it and then puree until smooth. Return to the pan and add cream, stir over high heat until hot. For a smoother flavor bring soup to a boil, add salt and pepper, to taste. Ladle into bowls and garnish with dollop sour cream and parsley sprigs. *When blending hot liquids: Remove liquid from the heat and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes. Transfer liquid to a blender or food processor and fill it no more than halfway. If using a blender, release one corner of the lid. This prevents the vacuum effect that creates heat explosions. Place a towel over the top of the machine, pulse a few times then process on high speed until smooth. Recipe courtesy Maxine Bonneau Show: All American Festivals Episode: Carrot Festival