Homemade soup is truly one of life's great pleasures. Hearty soups define good eating and put the comfort in comfort food. Discovering how simple and enjoyable soup is to make is equal only to the joy of tasting your own. With "Cooking Soups For Dummies, " all you need know is how to boil water. Add to this, some basic advice on equipment plus tips on how to stock your kitchen pantry--and you're well on your way to tackling the delicious assortment of recipes. But, first, you'll get the lowdown on how to make quick work of such basics as: Various cutting methods--including chopping, cubing, dicing, mincing, shredding, and slicing Liquid foundations--including recipes for chicken, beef, vegetable, mushroom, fish, shrimp, and clam broth Soup safety--advice on proper chilling, storage containers, freezing basics (with a shelf-life table), thawing, and reheating Tips on improvising--incl uding halving and doubling recipes, remaking leftovers, ingredient substitutions, and lightening up with less fat And now to creating your own kitchen itinerary for the delicious, nutritious, eclectic, and international world of soups . . . starting with: Fresh soup from the garden--including Sweet Potato Bisque, Thrifty French Housewife's Soup, and Fresh Tomato Basil Soup Soup from the dairy case--including recipes for Cream of Mushroom Soup, Tomato Orange Bisque, and Broccoli Cheddar Soup Hearty meat and poultry soups--including recipes for Herbed Oxtail and Vegetable Soup, Scotch Broth, and Country Chicken Noodle Soup Seafood chowders and bisques--including recipes for Fresh Salmon Chowder, Manhattan Clam Chowder, and Easy Lobster Bisque Cold soups--including Avocado Soup, Vichyssoise, and Spanish Gazpacho Full of great tips on garnishes, ideal meal pairings, and last-minute fixes, plus 100 recipes, eight pages of full-color photos, and several black-and-white illustrations, "Cooking Soups For Dummies" helps you discover one great thing about making soups: you don't have to be a grandmother to cook like one