~ Veggie Soup ~

I am still trying to work out the kinks of my new blog, but in the mean time I though it would be fun to share a new recipe with you. It has been cold here, really cold, like -25 cold, so soup always seems to fill up a belly nicely when it is this cold. Here's the kicker, I am not talking about opening up a can and dumping a gluey, globby substance into a pan, we are talking from scratch. Stay with me, you can do it, I promise. Cooking is an art, God gave us the best stuff on earth, so keep it simple and you can't go wrong. I don't really have a recipe, I just look to see what I have fresh and what I have in the freezer from last years harvest. All of the ingredients I use are organic or sustainably harvested.

A great base to get started with for basic vegetable soup is:

1/2 onion, red or white
3 carrots (don't peel, just dice or shred, which ever you prefer)
2 stalks of celery
1-2 tsp of garlic
1 medium potato, yukon golds are my favorite

Toss it all into a pot, (I received a enameled cast iron 6 qt pot for Christmas and I think I am in love) with a little butter or oil, and yes I said butter. Despite all the controversy, butter is way better for you than margarine. I have a great recipe to make you own margarine that I will share a bit later.

If you use olive oil, coat your veggies in it and then heat them up. If you heat olive oil up to much you destroy all the good stuff in it that you are using it for. I don't turn my heat up past medium and I cook the veggies for about 10 minutes.

When I was digging around in the freezer I found some cubes of baby food that I have made and never used, so, they went in the pot too. The cubes were carrots, so they gave the soup a sweet taste and the puree thickened it slightly. I also had half of a zucchini in the fridge so that went in the pot as well. I used green beans, peas, a palm full of marjoram leaves and thyme, salt and pepper to taste.

Now add your stock, about two quarts. Bone broths are the best, they will look like jello in your fridge. If you want to keep it vegetarian, then add vegetable broth or water. Bring this to a boil and then if you want to add 1 cup of whole barley uncooked, do it now. Turn down the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes. Stir, adjust your seasonings and simmer for another 45 minutes.

That's it, your done. I have even made this in the crock pot and it turned out just as good. If you are a meat eater then add your preferred meat when you stir and adjust your seasonings. There, see, simple as can be! Don't settle for goo out of a can when you can have something delicious and nutritious instead. Served with homemade whole wheat bread and you have one kicker of a meal. Have questions? Just email me! I am sorry I don't have a photo for you, my family ate it before I could get a picture of it.