My mother used slices of bread cut into stars and then placed a non drip candle on each and put into the bowl of soup and served at Christmas.
Ingredients
1 Onion
2 Carrots
1 stalk of Leeks
1/2 a root of Celery
1 Radish/Turnip
1/2 Cabbage
1 soup cube
pepper
pods of cloves, cardamoms and a piece of cinnamon
Salt to taste if not enough
a blob of butter
1 Tbps of vegetable oil
Method
Wash and cut the ingredients to pieces, place in a strainer. Take a large saucepan and add the butter and oil, when warm add the chopped vegetables and fry, than add enough water to cover and a soup cube and pepper. Add the cloves and cardamoms in a tea strainer or mesh bag so that you can fish it out when finished. Once vegetables are boiled pour into a
liquidizer and blend. Then keep a strainer on a big bowl and pour in the soup and then it is ready for serving. You can add any cream if desired.
This time I made mine with a Christmas tree cookie cutter and kept on a slice of bread cut into the shape of Christmas trees and placed these on the soup before serving.
This can also be made with pumpkins.