Vegetable Soup

• 4 quarts of water or half water, half favorite stock
• 2 lbs of beef or chicken, cut into small pieces
• 3 tablespoons of EVOO
• 5 stalks of celery, chopped into penny sized pieces
• 2 large onions from your root cellar, chopped into 1/2" pieces
• 2 cloves of fresh garlic from your root cellar, finely minced
• 5 medium sized potatoes from the root cellar, peeled and cut into quarter sized pieces
• 6 medium sized carrots from the root cellar, peeled and cut into thin 1/4" slices
• 1 tablespoon basil from your summer harvest
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 pound tomatoes cut into pieces from your summer canning of Heirloom Mix
• 32 ounces of other veggies such as:
  • Red Swan Bean from your freezer
  • Estancia Pea from your freezer
  • Lunar Eclipse Squash from your early canning
  • Rainbow Bell Pepper Mix from your freezer
• Salt & Pepper

Prepare meat, cut into small pieces and prepare garlic (mince), onions and celery chopped. Saute these items in olive oil and add 1 cup of stock, as the ingredients cook. Don't saute too quickly so that meat toughens, add more stock if needed. Transfer ingredients to a large soup pot, and begin adding the balance of the ingredients, all the liquid stock, bay leaves, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, beans, Peas, Squash, peppers, add Salt and Pepper to your taste. Cook under low heat for many hours, you can fork test the vegetables for tenderness. Soup can be thickened easily by using Corn Starch or pre-sifted flour. When serving, remove bay leaves. Best to make day before so that ingredients achieve their greatest flavor. Enjoy this garden-to-table feast!