Nadine continues her simple and great information on ways to use fresh ingredients for a meal.  Today was the perfect day to cook a pot of soup with the freeze last night and bits of snow this morning.  If you have missed her previous posts, check out her recommendations in part 3.

Cooking Beyond Recipes

Fall Harvest Soup

As I was leaving the Farmer’s Market last weekend, I ran into a friend who owns a restaurant. I told her, “I’m going home to make beef vegetable soup.” “Yeah, I am so over the raw food,” she replied. There are surprisingly gray skies, intermittent rains, a little snow and cooler temperatures. As the season changes, we turn to foods that simmer on the stove and roast in the oven.

Here’s the fall harvest soup I made with my fresh delicious produce:

2 lbs plum tomatoes

½ lb beef stew meat

3 medium carrots

3 small stalks celery

¼ lb green beans

2 medium summer squash

1. Dunk the tomatoes in boiling water and blanche for about 1 minute, then drain. Peel the tomatoes and chop them into chunks.
2. Cut the beef stew meat into smaller chunks. In a large pot, brown the meat in olive oil.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes to the meat. Stir well.
4. As the above simmers, peel and chop the carrots, chop the celery, green beans, and summer squash. You can add the different veggies to the pot as you prepare them; there’s no need to wait until all of them are chopped.
5. Add water (preferably filtered) until you get the soup consistency you prefer—either more like a stew or thinner like a soup.
6. Bring to a boil, then turn the soup down to a simmer. Cook until the green beans are the eating texture you prefer.

Then there are lots of options. Eat the soup as it is. Take a smaller meal-size portion, heat it, chop some kale into thin ribbons, throw it in and cook until the kale is done. (I prefer not to reheat kale.) Add a cooked grain like rice or quinoa for a heartier repast.

Those of you who love onions and garlic as the start of a soup may object that I’ve left out the most important ingredients. Go for it! Cook them with the browning meat