Soup Making

Isn’t homemade soup just a magical food this time of year?  I love to make soup, I love the smell of soup simmering on the stove, I love the warm bowl at dinner and the leftovers the next day too.  I love everything about soup!
Most winters I make soup about once a week, but for the last month or so I have steadily made 2 pots every week—more people to feed, don’t ya know!  We definitely have some favorites:  a Hungarian Mushroom with dill; a Spicy Black Bean with many, many accompaniments; a Curried Butternut Squash with a dollop of Greek yogurt; an incredible Moroccan Tagine with dried fruit and sweet potato; a lovely red Borscht with Beef; and the family favorite that my daughter dubbed “Happiness and Sunshine” (Avgolemono).  These are the ones I have made multiple times over the last two months.
This week I had a request for a Beef Barley Soup from a cousin (Hi Amy!), but I don’t make that one--yet.  However I do make delicious Beef Borscht so I will share that with everyone.
First, gather your ingredients:  one onion, diced; 2 carrots, diced; 2 stalks of celery, diced; 3-4 beets, diced; garlic cloves, a can of diced tomatoes, 2 boxes of chicken stock, 1 pound beef stew meat, a bottle of red wine (you can drink what you don’t use so get something good), half a head of cabbage, chopped. In a large heavy bottomed pot, sauté the onion in butter and olive oil.  Add some salt, and stir once in awhile, until the onions are soft and starting to brown.  Add carrots, celery, and a handful of garlic cloves; continue to cook and stir until fragrant.  Add 1 pound of beef stew meat, (I usually cut the chunks smaller so they fit on a spoon), salt and pepper, and continue cooking and stirring until the meat is browned.  To get the most of those bits of browned meat on the bottom of your pan, you will want to deglaze:  add 1 cup of red wine and stir and scrape the pan with a wooden spoon to get all those bits off the pan and into the soup.  Add 32 ounces of chicken stock, the can of diced tomatoes, a splash of red wine vinegar, the beets, cabbage, salt and pepper. Bring the pot to a boil; cover, and simmer for 90 minutes or so.  Go read a book or do some laundry and enjoy the wonderful smells coming from your kitchen.  When time is up, taste your soup adjust the salt or pepper as needed.  Add some fresh herbs:  rosemary, thyme and parsley are what I use.  Serve this up with some sour cream or yogurt, and a thick slice of whole grain bread!

Let me know if you try it!

Next time:  Getting Your Grains—They aren’t just for breakfast!
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