Location:
The Mattie Ranch
Attendees:
Birthday Girl Mattie, Josh, Bill, Leslie & the wee ones, me
Menu:
Garden salad
Servatii Championship bread (Bill's new and welcome discovery)
Vegetable soup
Key lime bars and Irish cream mousses
Entertainment:
A few classic "Dirty Babs" jokes (she gets a free pass for her birthday)
Liam's excitement over blowing out his Grammy's birthday candles
A brand new baby! I thought he was named Theodore, but has apparently he's had his name officially changed to "Poopy Lump."
The Soup:
The Birthday Girl said she wanted either vegetable soup or tomato soup, and as I'd just tomatoed out last night, I decided to go with the former. And, hey, that meant I had everything I neeeded already in my fridge and pantry! The question was how to make it a little better than average.
For me, one thing that separates a good vegetable soup from a merely inoffensive vegetable soup is the broth. In this case, I used some of the massive quantity of vegetable stock I made and froze the last weekend of January, and it worked out beautifully. It's so easy to make your own vegetable broth, and it just takes an hour or two depending on how rich you need the flavors to be. But, if you don't have that kind of time (as I wouldn't have had last night if I didn't have those stockpiles (get it? STOCKpiles?)), I'd really recommend getting Rapunzel bouillon. It's absolutely the best I've found, and I like it a superton (that's, like, a ton that can fly) better than the canned or boxed stuff. Locally, you can get it at the fabulously convenient Park + Vine.
Thing Two that separates the palate-pleasing from the passable is holding on to the freshness and brightness of the vegetables. No one wants lifeless mush, and the mush is so easy to avoid. Just don't overcook the vegetables (your soup should be done in about 45 minutes, and be ready to serve it shortly thereafter), and add some acidity (I used lemon juice but any number of vinegars could be worth a try).
Bill said that, in transit to dinner, he remarked that he has never met a vegetable soup he liked. I'm proud to say he claims I changed his mind about that. Monday night victory! (Maybe it was just that Championship bread.)
I've included my method for this soup, but it's so simple that you don't really need a recipe. Vegetable soup is really just vegetables and broth, you know? So just go ahead and throw in whatever vegetables you like, and enjoy a meal that somehow leaves you feeling more wholesome than when you began. I'm pretty sure an earnest bowl of vegetable soup serves as an act of contrition for at least one minor sin.
Plain Old Vegetable Soup
thrown together sans recipe
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup thinly sliced leeks, white and light green parts only
1 cup diced shallots
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
2 cups diced Yukon gold potatoes
2 cups carrots, peeled and sliced
1 cup celery, sliced
2 quarts vegetable stock
2 14-ounce cans diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 cup frozen peas
3 cups baby spinach
juice of 1/2 lemon
handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley
shredded Parmesan, to garnish
Heat olive oil in your soup pot over medium low heat and add leeks, shallots, garlic, thyme and a pinch of kosher salt. Sweat for 8 to 10 minutes, until soft.
Add carrots, celery and potatoes, give it a good stir and let soften for another 8 to 10 minutes.
Add stock, tomatoes, corn and peas, and increase heat to bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or so, until all vegetables are soft.
Add spinach, and stir until wilted. Just before serving, add lemon juice and parsley. Pass Parmesan around the table, and let that down-home feeling sink in.
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