Seasonal Vegetable Soup

As mentioned in a previous post, for some reason we receive our vegetable/fruit shipment two weeks in a row. Therefore, we have an overabundance of vegetables - not a terrible problem to have. It is only bad when the vegetables start to go bad before you are able to use them so Derek and I thought we would make a concerted effort to prevent that from happening. Our strategy: soup. Soup is winter's version of a salad - a medium for throwing nearly any appealing ingredient in and so long as there is a decent base, it will work out.

Luckily our base for this was better than decent. Because I was too "lazy" to walk to the store just to get vegetable broth, Derek came up with the idea of simply making our own broth. While I have no idea what measurements he used, I can give a general idea of what went into making a very, very good vegetable broth.

Homemade Vegetable Broth

Water (enough to fill up a 5 qt pot about 2/3 full)
Leeks
Celery
Radishes
Carrot
Dried Shiitake Mushrooms
Onion
Garlic
Thyme
Salt
Pepper

Mix all ingredients in a big pot and heat over medium heat. Let cook for about 30-40 minutes or so to incorporate all of the flavors. Once it is to your liking, strain the vegetables and (gasp!) discard, leaving a smooth liquid base. (Of course, me being me, I had to snack on some of the cooked vegetables since I could not possibly let them go to waste!! The radish and leek were my favorite!)

Soup Ingredients:

2-3 quarts vegetable broth
1.5 cups green Beans, cut into 3/4 in pieces
1.5 cups potatoes, cut into 1/2 in cubes (we used fingerlings)
1 bunch swiss chard, rib removed, roughly chopped
3 carrots, cut into 1/3 in. slices and halved
2 leeks, white parts sliced
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
parmesan cheese
fresh black pepper

Saute the green beans, carrots and leeks in a pan over medium high heat for about 5 minutes. Add to a pot of vegetable broth along with the potatoes. After about 20 minutes, add the swiss chard and red pepper flakes. Continue cooking for about 5 more minutes. Season to taste. Top with parmesan cheese (freshly grated) and black pepper.

Ok so this is nothing special - doesn't look incredibly appealing by looking at it but it was really the broth that made this. Specifically the inclusion of the shiitake mushrooms to really round it out. I recommend making your own broth when you have a bunch of vegetables that you want to use. There doesn't need to be a recipe - just throw in what you've got - same with the vegetables for the soup. If you wanted more substance (though there was plenty with all of the potatoes) you can add some chickpeas or other type of bean. A small pasta also would work.

As we approach fall - I am sure there will be many more "throw everything in the pot" soups coming out of our kitchen. I'm especially excited for this once we start using that wonderful winter squash....bring on the butternut squash!!!