I have owned this book for... ooooh... well it seems like forever but I'm guessing since 1996! This is esily the most used recipe book on my shelf, and I have a few. Never have I offered a soup from this book without a chorus of praise, I've altered some of the recipes, I object to buying a chicken just to make stock for a soup for example, so I've used Chicken Oxo. Where I've made a predominantly vegetable soup which has asked for Chicken Stock I've used Green Oxo. So appreciative have my friends been of the soups from this book that I must have bought 6 or 7 copies of it just as presents. Buy it, use it, love it... but be adventurous and change the odd thing here and there and see what you think of the alterations, the book even has a grid at the back for you to record the changes you have made and your verdict on the outcome.