Cream of Vegetable Soup for a cold Winter Night

Hi to all my dear Bloggo-buddies. Here in England its getting cold . Although it is still Fall, it is slowly giving way to Winter. Back in India winter always means great vegetables . After a hot October, its November that brings with it the best of veg produce.The vegetable vendors have their stalls overfull with delicious red carrots, juicy amd plump tomatoes, greenest of beans and the lushest of salad greens. Just looking at all the veggies always makes me go into overdrive and I normally end up buying all sorts of veggies sometimes even those with which I do not know what to do. I guess I still associate winter with fresh vegetables although here in Engalnd you don't really mark the difference that much.
The recipe I am sharing with you today is one of my favourite winter recipes. Its easy to make and a meal on its own or is great with a couple of pieces of warm crusty toast . Its warms the heart and is great comfort food.

Ingredients:

3/4 of a cup of each of the following veggies chopped:
Carrots, french beans, spring onions, mushrooms, potatoes, coriander, corn kernels, green peas, cauliflower.

2 to 3 cloves of garlic chopped

3 tblspns oil to saute the veggies

4 to 5 cups of water

2 tblspns of cream or simply half a cup of milk

1 cube of veg stock (Available as Oxo cubes in UK and by Maggi in India)

Salt and pepper to season

How you go about it:
1. Heat the oil in a saucepan or kadhai, first add the chopped garlic and green onions. Saute for a couple of minutes.

2.Then add all the other chopped veggies and saute for a while. Crumble the stock cube and add. Add salt and pepper .

3. Add the water and bring to boil. Simmer till the veggies are tender.Switch off the heat. If you have a electric hand blender you can blend the soup immediatey in the saucepan itself. But if you have to do it in a blender jar then let the soup cool down a bit and then blend until smooth.

4. Put it back on the gas and let it simmer for a while. Check the seasoning. At the last stage add the cream or milk and stir it in gently. The soup is ready to eat. Garnish with more coriander and serve with warm crusty buttery toast or garlic bread.