Stone Soup Is An Old Family Favorite

Do you remember the children's story, Stone Soup? 

It was one of my favorite stories when I was a kid. 

It is about some hungry travelers who come to a village with only a soup pot and some stones. 

They fill the pot with water and the stones and make a fire. 

As passer byers looked into the pot, they ask the travelers what they are making. 

The travelers entic the villagers with tales of an extraordinarily delicious stone soup that they would be willing to share if only they had the right ingredient. 

The travelers tell the first person that the soup would be perfect if only he had some carrots. 

And then they repeat the story to the next passer byers saying if only he had some celery, and then to the next neighbor if only he had some parsley , and to the next neighbor if only he had a potato or an onion.

Each person gives the clever travelers the "one ingredient" that is missing to make this mysterious stone soup. The characters continue collecting ingredients from all the neighbors until they have enough to make a flavorful big pot of stone soup to eat.

The travelers only contribution to this soup was the pot and the stones.

Although I didn't use any stones, this recipe reminds me of the stone soup story.

I did not go shopping for any ingredients, and I did not have a recipe to follow. I simply used what vegetables I could find lurking in my fridge.

Easy, Frugal, and Healthy

 I found one potato, a large carrot, some fresh green flat parsley, some red peppers, some cabbage, onions, zucchini, garlic and fresh sage to make this vegan and naturally gluten free soup. To give it a little more depth, I added a can of cooked beans.

Since I only used whatever I had, I was surprised that the soup was very tasty. It turned out be an pleasing vegetable soup that was quick and easy.

Don't Forget to Add This
My favorite addition to the soup was a half uneaten jar of sauerkraut that was lingering in the fridge. I remembered that my mother used to make a sweet and sour soup using sauerkraut. Sounds a little strange, but it added some interesting flavor. If you like sauerkraut, make sure to add it to your bowl. If not, add fresh lemon juice.

It's Now Officially Soup Weather 
As far as I'm concerned once the temperatures get into the fifties like it is today, it is now officially soup weather!

Have you begun to make soup yet? Do you make soup in the summer? What are you making? 

Author: Judee Algazi
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Serves: 8 

Ingredients: 

1 or 2 medium potatoes
2 carrots, sliced

1 cup of parsley, chopped

1 red pepper, diced
1 medium to large zucchini diced

5 leaves of sage

3 cups of cabbage, chopped ( green or purple)

1 onion, sliced

4 cloves of garlic, peeled and halved
8 cups of water
4 cups of vegetable broth
1 and half cups of cooked beans ( white or kidney)
Himalayan salt and pepper to taste
Sauerkraut to add to each bowl ( 1/4 cup for each bowl)
or a squeeze of lemon juice in each bowl
2 teaspoons of olive oil or olive oil spray

Directions: 
Sautee the onion and garlic in some olive oil spray or a little olive oil. When translucent, add the carrots, red pepper, red cabbage, potato, and zucchini. Mix well and then add the water and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes and then simmer about 30 minutes covered until vegetables are soft. Add a drop of lemon juice to each bowl.

My Notes: 
1. If you have leftover soup and the liquid is absorbed the next day, add more broth and reheat.



This recipe will be shared Sunday on Souper Sunday at Kahakai Kitchen where you can link up soup, salad, or sammie recipes...

Also will be shared on Friday on Weekend Cooking - open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share.