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From the Diary of a Kitchen Goddess: Hearty Harvest Vegetable Soup
Friday, June 1, 2012 ~ A page in the life of a devoted kitchen witch
Hello. Let me introduce myself to you. I am known all over my village as "Karen, the Kitchen Goddess." I have begun to write out this diary as a record of my favorite edible potions and spells. Its purpose is to serve as a legacy to those who devote themselves to cooking as a way of loving others, healing, and fostering peace between all species on the planet Earth.
On the pages that follow, the thoughts that I have written down are meant to be a friendly conversation between my reader and I. They are meant to be read and enjoyed, and the potions are meant to be created and shared.
My Loyal Kitchen Companion
My personal invitation to you:
Come sit with me and chat over a hearty meal.
Please step inside my humble cottage on this chilly evening and visit a while. Take a seat at my table and sip some tea while I stir the soup bubbling over my hearth fire. Here you are; I give you a cup of well water to quench your thirst.
I have a hearty harvest soup that I want to share with you. I've brewed cauldrons full of this cozy potion many a time, to the delight of my family and friends. I am sure that if you blend all of the ingredients with the same magical spell I have cast over mine, yours will be the most delicious elixir that you and your loved ones have ever tasted.
Taste for yourself the warmth that my soup gives your heart and soul. Close your eyes and enjoy how that warmth travels throughout the rest of your body. My giant pot of love can feed a copious band of motley revelers at my big, round table.
Feeding bodies and souls a pot of love and light is what I do best. There are many magical spell books with recipes for a plethora of edible potions, yet what I enjoy most is creating my own unique combinations to serve all of the fellow wayfarers who cross the threshold of my cottage door.
Take home some of my love to warm you
Have another bowl for your journey home.
This pot of love will offer up a second bowl to those who relish what brews within it. The steam will encircle you and protect you from illness. The food will nourish you and give you strength from head to toe. The sweetness of the company we have kept together will comfort your soul during the darkest of nights. You are always welcome to return whenever you like.
You must make it your own.
Now that you have tasted my potion, it has become part of the very blood that pulses through your veins. I have written down the ingredients of this soup I have served you, but when you cook it you must make it your own, as I have done in my home. It may taste differently when you make it, but that is the beauty of this adventure. You will blend the ingredients to the delight of your unique palate, then share it freely with those around you.
My magic soup-brewing cauldron
The Magic
As you stir the ingredients of this wholesome brew over your hearth fire, say:
"Hearty harvest, bless my home.
Friends and family to me will roam.
As I feed them, bless their souls,
And warm them for their homeward strolls.
Blessed be."
Manifest
Keep an image in your mind of your beloved dinner guests and extend to them your loving energy. Hold them in your heart with healing light as you ladle your soup into bowls and place the bowls in front of your guests with a warm smile. They will taste the love you poured into the soup as you stirred it and they will find the soup especially tasty.
Bowl of Hearty Vegetable Soup
How yummy is this?
Cook Time
Veggies, Herbs, and other treats to add to the pot:
- 1 butternut squash, or package of frozen squash, peeled and chopped
- 1 or 2 potatoes, sweet or white, peeled and chopped
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 Tbspn olive oil or butter (or mix)
- 3 celery sticks, sliced thin
- 3 carrots, peeled and sliced thin
- 5 or 6 mushrooms, sliced thin
- 1 Cup spinach or kale, chopped
- 1 Carton or can vegetable broth or stock
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp dried Italian herb mix
- 1/3 Cup coconut flakes (optional)
- 1 package of 6-cheese Italian shredded cheese mix, sprinkled on as garnish
How to create this hearty elixir:
- Peel, chop and slice all of the vegetables that will be cooked in the soup.
- Pour the olive oil into the soup pan and warm it on medium heat. I usually start with 2 tablespoons of the oil with 1 tablespoon of butter.
- Chop the onion and sauteè it in the oil and butter for about 5 minutes. Since I grow chives, Iusually add a handful of those, too.
- Sauteè the chopped and sliced vegetables in the olive oil and butter for about 5 minutes.
- Add the soup broth or stock.
- Stir together vegetables and broth, then add the black pepper and dried Italian herb mix.
- Add the coconut flakes if you like (optional).
- Simmer the soup for 30 minutes more.
- Serve hot in individual bowls, with the shredded Italian cheese mix in a bowl on the side for individuals to sprinkle on their soup (optional). In my home, shredded Parmesan cheese also makes it out onto the table for garnishing.
A large cache of vitamins in every bowl, to strengthen you
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving size: 1 bowl | |
| Calories | 95 |
| Calories from Fat | 90 |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Fat 10 g | 15% |
| Saturated fat 0 g | |
| Unsaturated fat 0 g | |
| Carbohydrates 23 g | 8% |
| Sugar 3 g | |
| Fiber 15 g | 60% |
| Protein 21 g | 42% |
| Cholesterol 20 mg | 7% |
| * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. | |
© 2012 Karen A Szklany
