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Soup has never been trendier, thanks to restaurants with creative chefs and home cooks who want to cook with fresh ingredients.While the professional chef will cook or roast soup bones all day to get the coveted stock to use as a base for many different soups, the home cook has limited time.If you are working outside your home, soups made by all-day cooking with soup bones or a leftover ham bone, or by soaking dried peas or beans overnight, are not an option. Instead, home cooks are looking for convenience products -- canned or boxed broths plus cooked meats and poultry, pre-cut vegetables and flavorful herbs.There is a general increase in at-home cooking, according to the Swanson Broth team in Campbell's Kitchen, who are watching "emerging" and "embraced" trends in food.The emerging spectrum represents what is happening with haute cuisine at restaurants with experimental chefs.Among the emerging flavors identified by the Campbell's Kitchen: Savory watermelon, rhubarb, parsnips, celery/celery root, goji, pork belly, grapefruit, sunchoke, coconut, farro (an ancient cereal grain that belongs to the wheat family), confit and ceviche.Embraced flavors, ingredients and techniques have permeated home kitchens of creative cooks. Trends are figs, pomegranate, beets, cauliflower, acai (the high-energy berry of an Amazon palm tree), organic foods, short ribs, blood orange, artichoke, mango, whole grains, caramelized, coulis and pickled ingredients.Lazy Day Beef and Vegetable Soup can be prepared on the stovetop or in the slow-cooker. Serve in bread bowls if desired.When preparing it in the slow-cooker, omit oil. Combine all ingredients except mixed vegetables and pasta and cheese in the slow-cooker. After five hours on "High" or eight hours on the "Low" setting, stir in the vegetables and pasta and cook another hour. It's a very good soup and the quantity is large enough for great leftovers.Cheesy Broccoli Potato Soup is very good and easy. Once you have the ingredients, it's a 30-minute recipe.Dried beans make filling, healthy soups. Michigan White Bean Soup from "Techniques of Healthy Cooking" by the Culinary Institute of America (Wiley, $65) is made with chicken stock and bacon. Many old-fashioned recipes use a ham bone covered with water as a base and to get the flavor for a bean soup.From "Soup's On" by Leslie Jonath and Frankie Frankeny comes Hog Island Oyster Stew. The Hog Island Oyster Company is located at Tomales Bay, Calif., just north of San Francisco. You can use any variety of fresh oysters in this recipe.BEEF AND VEGETABLE SOUP2-1/2 pounds beef for stew, cut into 3/4-inch pieces1 tablespoon olive oil1 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning, crushed1/4 teaspoon pepper2 14-ounce cans ready-to-serve beef broth1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes with garlic and onion, undrained1 cup water2 cups frozen mixed vegetables1 cup uncooked ditalini or other small pastaShredded romano cheese, optionalHeat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat until hot. Brown 1/3 of beef; remove from Dutch oven. Repeat with remaining beef. Pour off drippings. Return beef to Dutch oven; sprinkle with salt, Italian seasoning, and pepper.Add broth, chickpeas, tomatoes and water to Dutch oven; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover tightly and simmer 1 hour or until beef is almost tender.Stir in mixed vegetables and pasta. Continue simmering, covered, for 20 to 25 minutes or until beef and pasta are tender, stirring occasionally. Serve with cheese if desired.Yield: 6 to 8 servings-- National Cattleman's Beef AssociationCHEESY BROCCOLI POTATO SOUP4 tablespoons butter1 cup onion, chopped1/2 cup flour4 cups chicken broth4 cups low-fat milk1 16-ounce package frozen chopped broccoli2 cups potatoes, peeled and diced1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce1 teaspoon salt1/2 teaspoon pepperMelt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until tender. Add flour and stir until blended. Gradually stir in broth. Heat until slightly thickened. Add milk, broccoli and potatoes. Cook over low heat for 30 minutes or until broccoli and potatoes are tender. Stir in cheese and seasonings.Yield: 12 servings-- Midwest Dairy AssociationMUSHROOM VELOUTE WITH BUTTERMILK BLINIFor the Buttermilk Blini:1/2 cup flour3/4 teaspoon sugar1/2 teaspoon baking powder1/4 teaspoon salt1/8 teaspoon baking soda6 tablespoons buttermilk1 egg, lightly beaten, divided1 tablespoon melted butterOil for the griddleFor the Mushroom Veloute:4 tablespoons butter, divided1 cup diced leeks1/2 cup diced celery1 teaspoon minced garlic1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced1/2 pound oyster mushrooms, sliced6 cups chicken broth1 small bay leaf1 2-inch sprig fresh rosemary1 tablespoon flour1/4 cup heavy cream2 tablespoons beaten egg (reserved from blini recipe above)Salt and white pepperScant 2 tablespoons creme fraiche1 teaspoon thinly sliced chives8 sprigs parsleyTo make the buttermilk blini: Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl. Combine the buttermilk, 2 tablespoons beaten egg and the butter in a small bowl. (Set aside the remaining egg for use in the soup.) Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients; add the liquid ingredients. Stir just until blended.Heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat with just enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Spoon 1 teaspoon of batter onto the griddle or skillet for each blini. Cook 30 seconds to 1 minute on each side until both sides are dark golden brown. Repeat until all the batter is used, adding oil to the pan as necessary. Makes about 30 blini. Reserve in a warm place until ready to use.To make the Mushroom Veloute: Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large sauce pot over low heat. Add the leeks and celery and saute about 5 minutes, stirring often, until tender. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute, or until the garlic is fragrant.Add the mushrooms and saute until all the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.Add the chicken broth, bay leaf and rosemary and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, loosely covered, for 45 minutes. Remove bay leaf and rosemary. Puree the soup in a blender until velvety smooth; this may need to be done in 2 or 3 batches. Rinse out the pot and pour the soup back into the pot. Bring the soup to a simmer. Blend the remaining tablespoon butter with the flour in a small bowl. Whisk this into the soup and simmer about 1 minute until the soup is slightly thickened. In another small bowl, beat together the cream and the egg until blended. Whisk this into the soup until it is combined and the soup is slightly thickened; do not bring to a simmer or the egg will scramble. Season with one-eighth teaspoon each salt and white pepper, or to taste. Combine the creme fraiche, chives, salt and white pepper to taste in a small bowl.To serve, have the blini, seasoned creme fraiche and soup on hand. Ladle about three-fourths cup soup into each of 8 shallow bowls. Use a sharp knife to cut a pocket in one of the blini. Spoon about 1/4 teaspoon creme fraiche onto each blini half, then put together to make a sandwich. Place 2 or 3 filled blini and a parsley sprig on top of each soup serving.Yield: 8 servingsHOG ISLAND OYSTER STEW20 shucked oysters, with their liquor reserved (about 12 ounces)1-1/2 cups cream4 tablespoons unsalted butter2 tablespoons chopped fresh chivesFreshly cracked black pepperCombine oysters and their liquor, cream and butter in a saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring gently, until butter is just melted. Ladle the bowls and garnish with chives and pepper.-- "Soup's On!"MICHIGAN WHITE BEAN SOUP12 ounces dried northern white beans3 pints chicken stock1-1/2 ounces minced bacon2-1/2 ounces diced leeks2-1/2 ounces diced red onion1 teaspoon minced garlic1 thyme sprig2 bay leaves1/2 teaspoon kosher salt1/4 teaspoon ground black pepperCook's note: To reduce length of soaking time, bring the beans and stock to a boil, remove from heat, and allow to soak for 1 hour. Continue with the recipe.Soak beans for 8 to 12 hours in enough cold water to cover by 3 inches. Drain beans and simmer in stock until beans are almost tender, about 30 minutes.Render bacon to release its fat. Add leeks, onion and garlic and sweat until translucent. Add sauteed onion mixture, thyme and bay leaves to the beans and simmer until the beans are completely tender. Remove and discard thyme and bay leaves. The soup is ready to serve, or it may be properly cooled and stored. Heat the soup by batch or by portion just before serving. Season with salt and pepper and serve.Yield: 10 servings-- "Techniques of Healthy Cooking" by the Culinary Institute of America(Contact Kathie Smith at food(at)theblade.com.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)