Basic Soups by Marguerite Patten in a 2008 Grub Street Cookery publication.

I picked this book up on a whim from the Overdrive library. Although I made soups all year round, I am more apt to be in the mood to cook a big pot of soup during the winter months, so I was hoping for some tips and tricks, and maybe a few recipes that would mix things up a bit.
I got all that and quite a bit more. The author goes into great detail about how to make the broth or soup stock and all the various meat or vegetable bases one could start with and goes on from there -including soups that are creamy or clear, vegetable, fish, meat, poultry- cold soups, and even fruit soups and soups for those who are dieting. Not only are there recipes, but various methods of cooking are explained, which includes microwave cooking and pressure cooking.

I learned a lot from the text portions and did find some interesting recipes. The huge downside of this informative cookbook is that there are no pictures- not one- front or back.

Overall, this book was very helpful for me when it came to making homemade broths and soup bases. The recipes are mostly simple, and the ingredients are not hard to find, in most cases. I appreciated the variations provided and the notes on how to freeze or not. That said, I’m not sure if I will purchase a copy for future reference, but I did keep it in my 'considering List' - just in case. ( )