There is nothing like a cold day here on the mountain, snow falling and an eagle flying over head. Well, until you add a large pot of Spicey Vegetable Soup, cooked slow all day over our wood stove! I can see faces screwing up already. Ok, so you can use your kitchen range, be it electric or gas! I prefer to get my soups cooking, and then move them to our big wood stove where they simmer all day at a perfect even cooking heat. The bonus is of course that it doesn’t increase the electric bill one little penny. I prefer not to give the electric company any extra money! But, you can cook this in a pot on the stove or get it started and add it to an electric slow cooker. However you choose to cook it, you don’t want to miss this delicious soup.
Now, to be honest, I’m a naked baker and a naked cook! No, I don’t mean I cook without clothes on, but what I mean is that I like to cook without having a firm, strict recipe. I like to make up my own recipes, a dash of this, a pinch of that and a good measure of adventure. Yes, like a pilot flying blind, I like cooking and baking “naked”.
So, here’s a recipe for my “naked” soup! If you have to have absolutes, then email me and I’ll give you the more accurate measures.
I prefer to use fresh ingredients when I can, but since I make this soup most often in the winter time, I usually have to use some “quick frozen” options.
1/4 cup of olive or vegetable oil
two -3 cloves fresh garlic or about 1 tablespoon of fresh minced garlic (comes in a jar-my opinion is that you can never have too much garlic!)
black pepper (I use about 2-3 teaspoons–but do to your taste)
cayenne pepper (again, I use about 2-3 teaspoons, maybe even a tablespoon and a half–spicey!– but use to your taste)
2 cups of chopped white onion
2 stalks of celery-peeled and cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 1/2 – 2 Quarts turkey or chicken stock (if you are vegetarian you can use the vegetarian stock)
2 large cans of crushed tomatoes
5 large potatoes, peeled and cubed into about 2 inch cubes
3 large yellow squash, sliced into 1/2 thick pieces and then cut into half or quarters depending on the size of squash
5 carrots, scrubbed clean and sliced into 1/4 inch slices
1 cup of green peas (I usually use frozen green peas, but drained canned works fine too)
2 cups of green beans (again frozen works best, but you can use the canned (I prefer blue lake in the cans))
1 small bag of frozen corn
1 tsp sugar
1 Tablespoon salted or unsalted butter
2-3 Bay leaves
grated parmesan cheese (optional)
Directions:
Cover potatoes with water in a medium pot. Cook over medium high heat just until a fork inserts into them easily. Drain and hold. At the same time, place scrubbed, sliced carrots in a small pot. Add water to cover carrots. Cook over medium high heat until a fork inserts easily. Drain and hold.
In the bottom of a large Dutch oven heat oil over medium burner. Sautee’ garlic in oil and then add onions and celery. Sautee’ until onions are clear, not browned. Add black pepper.
Add about 2 cups of the chicken or turkey broth and let simmer for about 5 minutes.
Add the two cans of crushed tomatoes. These are the larger cans.
Add Cayenne pepper, sugar and bay leaves. Stir and Cover. Let simmer over medium-low heat for about 15 minutes to meld the flavors.
Add carrots, green beans, potatoes, squash, corn, green peas and butter.
Stir gently. Now top pot up with the rest of the chicken or turkey broth. Let simmer on medium low, stirring occasionaly. Cook for about 1 hour, or until vegetables are all tender. Salt to taste. This soup only gets better with cooking! If you have time to allow it to simmer a couple of hours, occasionally adding more broth as it cooks down as needed. I usually use a lot of black and cayenne pepper in this soup because we like it spicey. About five minutes before serving remove lid and allow to cook down a little.
Tip: Be sure to gently stir with a large spoon from the very bottom as veggies may tend to stick to the pot.
Healthy tip: If you make your own broth, cool and then place in the refrigerator for 4-5 hours until cold. You can then ladle off any excess fat or grease. You will have a very clear broth without fat!
Serving suggestion: I usually make Johnny cakes to serve with this delicious spicey veggetable soup. Ladel generous serving of soup into a nice bowl, grate some fresh Parmesan cheese on top and serve!
Enjoy!
To Freeze: Cool completely. I divide my soup into portions that I believe my husband and I will eat at one meal. Usually about 3 cups. Once it is completely cool I pour it into ziplock freezer bags. Zip almost completely shut, expel any extra air in the bag, zip all the way shut. Place in the freezer. To reheat, either thaw in the fridge or defrost in your microwave. Then, heat to serving temperature. It will taste freshly made!
Deliciously Capricious 