Vegetarian Advice: Bottomless Slow Cooker Soup

Question: How To Keep HEALTHY Soup Going For Weeks Or Months

I have searched the net, but can't find any information on "Bottomless" slow-cooked vegetable soup.

When I was a small child, my mother would keep a slow-cooker going for the whole winter with a vegan vegetable soup. We would hit it for snacks, and for general meals. It was always full and super-tasty...I'd like to know how she did that.

All the recipes I see are for a single meal and maybe next-day leftovers, but I can't find any info on how to keep a HEALTHY and unspoiled soup going for weeks or even months. Any ideas? - F.T.

Savvy Vegetarian Advice:

Dear F.T.,

In these days of ultra hygenic-ness, your mother would probably be shut down by the department of health! No doubt that such bottomless soups developed strong immune systems though. If the soup didn't kill you, nothing would!

Seriously though, food poisoning can kill you or at least make you wish you had died. The healthy way to eat any food the next day is to refrigerate it in a sealed container, and reheat gently, or freeze the remains for another meal in the near future. Don't refridge and reheat more than once - the nutritive value is half gone by day two, and in the red by day three.

The crockpot is reminiscent of those good old days of Mom's soup. You can start a soup the night before, and eat it for lunch and supper the next day. I wouldn't leave the crock pot on the whole time though - maybe stick it in the fridge in between, or transfer to another pot to reheat later.

The slow food movement is something you might want to explore, as a way of tapping into the feelings of plenty and leisurely enjoyment, which is what I think you're really missing. Try Slow Food USA

All the best, Judith Kingsbury, Savvy Vegetarian

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