Super fast Christmas ideas - 1

Calling this cooking is silly. In fact, these little treats have more to do with assembling than cooking, but provided you have jars available and can go to a supermarket, they will provide the best stocking fillers ever with the minimum of effort.

1 - Dried soup mix

You know how you can make soup out of dry beans by washing them, covering them in water with a cup or so of oil and some spices and letting them simmer for about 1 hour before going trough them with an immersion mixer and blitzing them to a soup consistency?

Well, making a mix of dry ingredients which can all be homeogenised into delicious soup, putting into a jar with a lice label and a pretty ribbon is all it takes to make a perfectly interesting stocking filler.

Here are some of my favourite combinations:

Mexican

2 cups dries Mexican black beans

1 cup dried red kidney beans

1 tablespoon dried parsley

1 tablespoon chopped dried red chilli

Eastern

1 cup dried chickpeas

1 cup dried cannellini beans

1 cup dried wide beans

1 tablespoon dried mint

1 tablespoon paprika

Italian

2 cups dried borlotti beans

1 cup small macaroni

1 teaspoon dried chilli

1 tablespoon dried basil

These all go well with some grated cheese on top, so you could add a slice of good parmesan or posh cheddar to the stocking. Remember that with this kind of thing packaging is essential, but doesn't have to be too complicated. A nice piece of material on top (chequered or maybe in theme with the soup), a nice label or tag and a pretty raffia ribbon are all you need.