soup with olive oil parmesan crackers- Frugal Friday

Posted on July 22, 2011 by cityhippyfarmgirl

It’s been awhile since I did a Frugal Friday post. Too long.

It’s winter here, and this week has been wet, rainy, soggy and grey. Perfect weather for soup.

My dad had given me a pumpkin from his garden, and the leeks were looking plump and juicey. Soup it was.

Leek and Pumpkin Soup

A good couple of slurps of olive oil in a large pot

finely chopped leek popped in

cooked until it wilts a little

then drop in your pumpkin pieces

add some water/stock and stick the lid on until soft

whiz it up with a hand mixer

Super basic soup that can be eaten as is or added to. I like adding natural yogurt and tomato chutney on top. Or some thai curry paste if you want a kick in the pants. The best soup is made with great vegetables. If the main ingredient is a tasteless old pumpkin…well the soup is going to taste, tasteless.

Olive Oil Parmesan Crackers

1 1/2 cups (225g) plain flour

1/2 cup (25g) unprocessed bran

1/4 cup (60mls) hot water

3/4 tsp salt

60mls water

80mls olive oil

grated parmesan

black pepper

Add hot water to bran, give it a minute or so to soak in and then in a mixer with a dough hook add all the ingredients and mix until comes together. Parmesan and black pepper put in amounts to your taste (or any other flavours). Knead the mixture for about 10 minutes until you have a stiff dough and then leave covered for about 45 minutes. Roll out to a couple of mm’s and cut what ever shapes you want. Place on a tray and grate extra parmesan over the top. Bake at 180C until light golden and crispy through. Shake them around a bit when you get them out of the oven to pick up any extra parmesan while they are still hot.

31 thoughts on “soup with olive oil parmesan crackers- Frugal Friday”

Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide on July 22, 2011 at 6:35 am said:

Love how simple it sounds. Such a beautiful shot too!

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- cityhippyfarmgirl on July 22, 2011 at 7:21 pm said:
  
  Thanks 🙂
  
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frugalfeeding on July 22, 2011 at 6:38 am said:

Yes! Frugal! Looks lovely!

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Wendy on July 22, 2011 at 6:42 am said:

Absolutely with you on the use of quality ingredients, especially when it comes to simple wholesome recipes. I think it’s Soup Week – I’ve had a go at a spicy sweet potato and pumpkin one but could’ve done with some of those yummy looking crackers – loved the tip of shaking up the dish to pick up the last remnants of the melted parmesan…I suspect a finger might do the same job!

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- cityhippyfarmgirl on July 22, 2011 at 7:21 pm said:
  
  A small set of fingers may have done the extra- extra mopping up here too.
  
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Celia on July 22, 2011 at 6:57 am said:

Beautiful pics, Brydie, and lovely sounding crackers – I’ve never made any with bran, but I’m sure they’re healthier! 🙂

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- cityhippyfarmgirl on July 22, 2011 at 7:23 pm said:
  
  They were pretty easy too. If they pass The Monkey test I’m happy.
  
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Joanna on July 22, 2011 at 7:06 am said:

That’s a beautiful shot, I love it! The squiggles on your biscuit bowl and the squiggles in the soup, you are an artist with the camera and you’re making us all drool. I almost wish it was winter and I could put my slippers on and cradle a bowl of soup like that.

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- cityhippyfarmgirl on July 22, 2011 at 7:24 pm said:
  
  Thanks Joanna, that’s really kind. I love winter but I’m done with it this week. Too much rain, and I can’t get anything dry.
  
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teawithhazel on July 22, 2011 at 7:39 am said:

love the soup and biscuits photos and they both sound delicious too..i made a lentil and brown rice soup yesterday with some stock i had made the day before from the bones of a roast chicken we’d had earlier in the week and also bread using whey left from draining yoghurt for another dish..jane

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- cityhippyfarmgirl on July 22, 2011 at 7:25 pm said:
  
  Love it. Frugal cooking at its best Jane 🙂 I’ll bet your soup tasted delicious.
  
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Kari @ bite-sized thoughts on July 22, 2011 at 10:09 am said:

This looks too good to be called frugal 🙂 I also like your reminder about tasteful vegetables being required for tasty soup. It can make a huge difference.

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- cityhippyfarmgirl on July 22, 2011 at 7:27 pm said:
  
  Huge difference doesn’t it. Average veges=average old soup.
  
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cathy x. on July 22, 2011 at 11:45 am said:

it’s funny, i had no idea that pumpkins need ripening for weeks after being picked. i was so excited at growing my own and tried to eat one right away. i thought i’d made some terrible mistake in the growing process and refused to eat anymore as it was truly horrific. so silly of me 😛 i like sprinkling grated cheddar cheese into circles and baking them as is to make super deliciously crunchy crispy cheese bits!

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- cityhippyfarmgirl on July 22, 2011 at 7:33 pm said:
  
  Yum, I like the sounds crispy cheesy bits, I’ll have to try that.
  An ambitious pumpkin tried to grow in one of my pots this summer. I had such high hopes!
  
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heidi on July 22, 2011 at 12:22 pm said:

Home made soup with home made crackers!
You, my dear, are a delight!
I’d order a small green salad on the side and consider this a feast!
It’s too hot for soup- but it’s never too hot for crackers! 🙂

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- cityhippyfarmgirl on July 22, 2011 at 7:36 pm said:
  
  I’m making a cabbage, apple, walnut salad at the moment heidi, would that suit? 🙂
  
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spiceandmore on July 22, 2011 at 3:17 pm said:

mmm…good day for soup!

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- cityhippyfarmgirl on July 22, 2011 at 7:36 pm said:
  
  soggy out there isn’t it!
  
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Provincial Homemaker on July 22, 2011 at 7:41 pm said:

Hmm, we still have leeks in the garden so I might need to give this a go when DH gets home. It looks deliious Have to try those parmesan crackers. Ginger and I are parmesan fiends:) I love that you have shaped them too. Decorative and yummy.

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- cityhippyfarmgirl on July 23, 2011 at 6:44 pm said:
  
  That was purely to appeal to the little people. If it had just been me, the crackers would have been hacked in to messy slabs 😉
  
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Christine on July 22, 2011 at 7:51 pm said:

Delish! We had soup and bread for dinner this week and I was thinking of you and your Frugal Friday posts, that you’d be pleased 🙂

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- cityhippyfarmgirl on July 23, 2011 at 6:44 pm said:
  
  Pleased indeed! 🙂
  
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chutneyandspice.com on July 22, 2011 at 10:53 pm said:

Its summer here – and cold, wet and gloomy, so a bowl of this would go down very well! I love the colour of it and your photos are so pretty. The crackers are a winner, what a great combination of olive oil and parmesan.

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- cityhippyfarmgirl on July 23, 2011 at 6:46 pm said:
  
  Thanks chutney and Spice. It’s fun getting the bowl to pose sometimes.
  
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Johanna GGG on July 22, 2011 at 11:16 pm said:

Pumpkin seems in such fine form at the moment that I have found it great in soups – but I really love these olive oil parmesan crackers – definitely must try them

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- cityhippyfarmgirl on July 23, 2011 at 6:47 pm said:
  
  I think they would be pretty easy to use any another flavours you might like too Johanna. Lime and cracked pepper is my next try…
  
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thecompletecookbook on July 23, 2011 at 12:58 am said:

What a super simple soup and your pretty crackers sounds great.
Have a happy weekend.
🙂 Mandy

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- cityhippyfarmgirl on July 23, 2011 at 6:48 pm said:
  
  Thanks Mandy, you too.
  
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Gina on July 26, 2011 at 5:05 pm said:

Tell me more of this cabbage apple salad? We keep getting cabbages in the veg box, yay for seasonal but boo for so. much. cabbage.

And I think you could serve me any old blandtastic soup if you served it with those crackers! Yum! (your soup isn’t blandtastic, it looks delish, I’m just saying j don’t think I’d care if it was just muddy water, you had me at ‘parmesan crackers’)

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- cityhippyfarmgirl on July 27, 2011 at 12:59 pm said:
  
  I usually do it with finely sliced chinese cabbage but normal cabbage works just fine and red as well. Just finely, finely slice it.
  So… cabbage, apple, grated carrot, celery, shallots, pecans or walnuts and then either a dressing of mayo or natural yogurt and a little dijon mustard. It’s my every day winter salad that I’ll quite often eat for lunch… bung in a bit of cheese too, if you want it to me more filling.
  
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