Golden Vegetable Soup

My parents were great soup-makers.  Being Scottish, hearty broths were part of their DNA, and I make them myself as often as I can.  Their repertoire was limited - Scotch Broth, Chicken Broth, Lentil and Ham Broth, and something my old Dad called 'CIA Soup' which meant, 'Chuck It All in', a bit like minestrone.  But my siblings and I never tired of them, they were so healthy and delicious.  Strange, then, that my parents also LOVED packet soup, particularly Golden Vegetable.  These were essentially milk and MSG in powdered form with little pieces of dehydrated carrot and pea that never, and I mean NEVER, rehydrated when the soup was made.  Gah!  But as a fresh soup made with simply masses of slowly simmered chunks of carrot, swede, leek, celery, and whatever else you have to hand (yesterday's version also had courgette, parsnip, Jerusalem artichoke and celeriac) and of course the obligatory frozen peas, it is a wonderful hearty soup.  You get the slight golden colour by extracting about a third of the soup and blending it, returning it to the pot, which thickens and colours the entire pot.  Thin it with a little milk to give some creaminess and add some finely chopped parsley, and there you have it - better than anything out of a packet and no MSG.