Souper

This time of year always has me thinking about soups. Warming comfort food when the cold weather begins to bite. Soups on winter day walks and backpacking trips are top of my menu.

This year I've been lucky as a couple of supermarkets are now stocking cup soups that are gluten free - and not just a choice of one! However I'm not a big fan of the after taste that they leave in the mouth, although they are a lightweight and easy to prepare first course.

In the past I've made a huge vat of lentil soup made with carrots and potato to bolster the calorie rating. This I dried and ground to a powder to create an instant soup. It's time consuming but tastier and additive free.

Recently on my web wanderings I come across a couple of ideas which I've yet to try. And one of these used bouillon cubes as a soup base, adding some dried vegetables and/or fish/meat as you please. There are a number of manufacturers that make natural additive free low sodium stock cubes so again I'm spoilt for choice. (This is a rare occurrence in the world of a coeliac.)

I've also found a gluten free miso soup mix. And this got me thinking beyond the first course. With a packet of rice noodles ramen, that old backpackers stalwart, is now within easy reach of my titanium chopsticks.