Soup's On!

"Eat soup first and eat it last, and live 'til a hundred years be passed"

~French Proverb

This morning the temperature was a balmy 11 degrees F with a wind chill of 1. That was at 6 AM when I first checked. I have no idea how much colder it may have been at 4 AM when I was numbly doing my paper route.

One thing screamed at me when I hit the warmth of the house this morning and that was, "SOUP!".

There is nothing better, more satisfying or more comforting on a cold day.
On your coldest day, I should think one of these would serve you well.



Pasta E' Fagioli
(Pasta & Bean Soup)
Philadelphian's pronounce this "Pasta-fazool"!

3 t oil
2 lbs ground beef
12 oz onion-chopped
14 oz carrots-slivered
14 oz celery-diced
48 oz tomatoes-canned-diced
2 c kidney beans
48 oz cannellini beans
88 oz beef stock
3 t oregano
2 1/2 t pepper
5 t parsley (fresh chopped)
1 1/2 t Tabasco sauce
48 oz spaghetti sauce
Shell or elbow macaroni

Saute beef in oil in large 10-qt. pot until beef starts
to brown. Add onions, carrots, celery and tomatoes and
simmer for about 10 minutes. Drain and rinse beans and
add to the pot. Also add beef stock, oregano, pepper,
Tabasco, spaghetti sauce, and noodles. Simmer until
celery and carrots are tender,
about 45 minutes. Makes 9 qts. of soup
* This is the Olive Garden knock-off popular on the web.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Basque Vegetable Soup

3/4 lb Polish sausage-sliced
1 broiler-fryer chicken (2-3 lbs.)
8 c water
2 leeks, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
1 lg turnip, peeled and cubed
1 lg onion, chopped
1 lg potato, peeled and cubed
1 clove garlic-minced
1 1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1 T snipped fresh parsley
1 t dried thyme
1 c shredded cabbage
2 c cooked navy or great northern beans

In a skillet, cook the sausage until done. Drain and set
aside. In a large dutch oven, cook chicken in water
until tender. Remove chicken-let cool. Strain broth and
skim off fat. Return broth to dutch oven. Add parsley,
thyme and all vegetables except cabbage, beans and
cooked sausage. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and
simmer for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, remove chicken from
bones and cut into bite size pieces-add to the dutch
oven. Add cabbage, beans and cooked sausage. Simmer,
uncovered, for about 30 minutes or until vegetables are
tender. 10-12 servings
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pistou Vegetable Soup

1 lb. dried white beans, cooked
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic
3 carrots, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
4 potatoes, diced
28 oz. whole tomatoes, diced
1/4 head cabbage, shredded
8 leaves kale, shredded
6 cups chicken broth, canned or homemade
1 tsp. thyme
Salt and pepper to taste

Puree half the beans in your food processor and set aside. In a large
pot, heat olive oil and saute onion and garlic for about two minutes
or until translucent. Add carrot, celery and potato and saute another
2 minutes. Add tomatoes and their liquid, beans, bean puree and
seasoning. Let simmer 5 minutes.

Add chicken broth to the mixture (sooner if it seems to be drying
out). Add cabbage and kale, correct the seasoning and simmer until
veggies are tender. Serve with a dollop of pesto
(homemade or readily prepared from a jar) on the top. Serves 12. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Prince Edward Island Potato Soup

1/4 c butter
1 lg onion-diced
4 med P.E.I. potatoes-diced
6 carrots-diced
3 c water
2 chicken bouillon cubes
freshly ground pepper
3 T flour
3 c milk
1/4 c dried parsley
1 t dried Thyme

In a large stock pot melt butter, add onion and cook
until onion is transparent. While onion cooks, place
diced potatoes, carrots, water and bouillon in another
large stock pot and bring to a boil. Cook until tender,
about 10 minutes. Season with pepper to taste.
When vegetables are cooked, add flour to onion to make a
paste. Add milk gradually. Mix well and heat over low
until warm. Add vegetables and liquid. Stir thoroughly
and heat for 5 to 10 minutes, over medium heat, stirring
occasionally until mixture thickens slightly. Add
parsley and thyme. Heat thoroughly and serve.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Martha Washington's Crab Soup

1 T Butter
5 ts Flour
3 Eggs; hard boiled;sieved
1 Lemon; grated rind of
1 pinch -Salt
1 pinch -White pepper,freshly ground
4 c Milk
1/2 lb crab meat - cooked
1/2 c Heavy cream
1/2 c Dry sherry
1 ds Worcestershire sauce


In a 2 qt saucepan, combine butter, flour,
sieved eggs,lemon rind, salt and pepper.
In a separate saucepan, bring milk to a boil, remove
from heat.
Gradually pour in the hot milk into the egg mixture,
stirring with a wire whisk. Add crab meat, and cook over low heat for
5 minutes-do not boil. Add cream and remove from heat. Stir in
sherry and Worcestershire sauce and serve piping hot.