Hodge-Podge Soup
I’ve been addicted to making stock. Once I realized how ridiculously simple it was and how it tasted oh, about a thousand times better than the stuff in the box, I can’t stop. Our freezer is half full of gallon zip-lock bags of frozen chicken stock, lined up like little books on a shelf. Josh has banned me from making any more until I use some of it up. Thank the Lord it’s fall!
This soup started off with two freezer bags of that delicious stock, plus some leftover broth from a hot pot dinner (which, by the way, we are both addicted to). I let the broth thaw and simmer on the stove while I chopped up every vegetable that we had on hand that needed to get used up.
Tomatoes of course. Side note; I used to hate tomatoes. I could hardly tolerate them, even chopped up fine and cooked in stuff – until recently. This spring, we’ve started growing our own and now I cannot stop eating them. I think we must have eaten bruschetta twice a week for a month (especially after seeing this) when both our tomatoes and basil were bursting. So, now I’m finding reasons to put tomatoes in everything. Not so sure if that will continue once the winter finally kicks in…
Where was I?
Tomatoes, an onion, we had loads of bell peppers that kept adding up from our CSA, rainbow chard from the garden, and green beans, also CSA. Can I just say that this place has changed my life? I really, really love it. The good folks at We Heart Food directed us there almost a year ago, and we have thoroughly enjoyed our membership; it’s changed our diet and the way we shop for groceries. It’s a stellar deal as well.
I’m full of tangents this evening, aren’t I?
My point was, I always get a kick out of opening up my box and finding real food, food that I know hasn’t been treated with chemicals, apples that aren’t coated in wax, carrots that are imperfect, potatoes that are dirty, spinach that has grass tangled up in it, and this beaut, green beans with leaves in the pile. I don’t know why, but for some reason, it makes my food seem so much more real.
In they all went into the pot, along with a few handfulls of brown rice, and I let it simmer away while we went about our day. This soup will be lunch for the workweek, supplemented with rice crackers or a salad to keep it interesting. At the end of the afternoon, Josh’s little sister Amy took a taste test. I think she approved when she polished off the little tasting bowl, a grin on her face. I love seeing kids shovel the veggies in. Either the soup is amazing or Amy’s just a really cool kid.
I think it’s a little bit of both.
ps – We got a new camera! We’re so excited about it, we’ve been dreaming of a really nice camera ever since we started this little blog almost two years ago. Hopefully we’ll be inspired to write more now. :)
Tags: Comfort Food, Hot Pot, Veggies
