Soyless, Wheatless Soup Mix

I love Cream of Mushroom soup.  And Cream of Chicken soup.  And Cream of Broccolli soup.  And Cream of Celery Soup.


So many Albertan and Edmontonians are familiar with these cookbooks. 

You might find a few in your own stash of cookbooks.  Although dated in some ways, many of the recipes are nice and simple and contain common ingredients, so I keep them around and flip through them once in a while.

But many of the casseroles and vegetable recipes include Cream of ?? soup. That was the easy way to make a casserole in the 80's and 90's. 

These soups almost all contain soy, which the girls can't have.  And they contain wheat, which Yvon can't have.  For the past few years I just didn't buy it and didn't get to eat it.  Occasionally I would buy it, but the girls would make me feel bad when I made it just for myself.

And actually, since making a lot of things from scratch, I've started to find that unexpected things taste really sweet to me.  Why should mushroom soup taste sweet?   That doesn't seem right.

I was really pleased to find a recipe for "Cream of Anything" soup mix in a new recipe book.  It's a simple thing to make, and a revelation to me.  Why did I never think of doing something like this myself?  It's hardly rocket science and I find I use it a lot.  And it's soyfree and wheatfree. 

You can use it for soup, of course, by adding the celery, chicken, broccolli or mushrooms, but you can also use it for creamy sauces or the base of many casseroles.   I used it today for the creamy portion of a turkey pot pie. 

Cream of Anything Soup Mix  (Mary Ostyn's recipe in Family Feasts for $75 a Week)

3 cups powdered milk
1 cup cornstarch
1 cup powdered chick bouillon (I add this later because I haven't found a soy-free powdered bouillon)
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

To make soup, combine 1/2 cup dry mix with 1 1/4 cup water.  Blend well and oil, cooking for 2-3 minutes.  It will thicken as it cools. 

To this, you can add other ingredients like chicken, mushrooms or celery.  Or brocolli and cheese. 

 Yay!  This recipe has brought cream soup back into our lives.