I love vegetable soup. Growing up, my mom would make it in the summertime. She made it completely out of fresh garden vegetables, which meant that the entire family was shelling lima beans and shucking and silking corn in the days immediately before my favorite soup. Mom would get off of 3^rd shift in the mill, and come home and make vegetable soup. She’d make it in a huge stock pot, and put up it up in containers for the freezer. I would get up mid-morning and the soup would be sitting covered in the kitchen to cool. It was the only time I ever ate breakfast. I’ve changed the soup over the years and added some things. I don’t use fresh produce, but basically it’s still Mom’s fantastic vegetable soup. Enjoy!

2 large cans tomato juice

1 liter chicken broth

1 bag shredded cabbage

10 oz box frozen chopped spinach

10 oz box frozen chopped broccoli

1 can carrots, pureed with juice

1 large can of green beans, or 1 bag of frozen

1 bag frozen cut okra

2 bags frozen Fordhook limas

2 cans Green Giant Niblets corn

2 cans Green Giant Llessur English peas

6 potatoes, peeled, cut into large cubes, or 3 potatoes if you are going to freeze some of the soup

Season to your taste. This is an approximation of what I use:

2 T canola oil

1 T Lawry’s seasoned salt

1 T Lawry’s garlic powder with parsley flakes

1 T chili powder

1 T cumin

½ T black pepper

3 bay leaves

1. Pour tomato juice and chicken broth in a very large stock pot.

2. Add cabbage, carrot puree, oil and spices. Cover and bring to low boil for about 30 minutes.

3. Add spinach and broccoli. Continue to cook at a simmer or low boil, covered, for another 30 minutes.

4. Taste broth to see if it is adequately seasoned. Add more seasoning if needed.

5. Add okra and continue cooking 30 minutes.

6. Cook limas in separate pot until tender. Salt as needed. I like to cook beans with a peeled whole onion, and a couple slices of bacon if I have it. Remove onion and bacon, but do not drain. Pour limas and stock into soup mixture.

7. Taste soup broth again and add seasoning if needed.

8. Cook potatoes until tender. I use the lima bean pot.

9. Just before potatoes are ready, add corn and peas to the soup, with their juice.

10. If you’re going to freeze some of your soup, I suggest you separate it into 2 portions at this time. Only put potatoes in the portion you are going to eat in the next few days. Frozen and thawed potatoes change texture, and I don’t personally like the texture. When you thaw your soup later, all you have to do is add cooked potatoes.

11. Pour potatoes and cooking water into soup mixture.

12. Continue cooking, covered, at low simmer until all ingredients are melded.

VARIATIONS:

· If you’re really feeling shameless, use bacon drippings instead of canola oil.

· Sometimes I add about 2 lbs of browned ground beef to the soup, after cooking the cabbage, broccoli and spinach.

· You could add stew beef or leftover ham &/or ham bone to the soup.

· My dad likes homemade vegetable soup with saltines. I like it with just a large spoon!

I love this vegetable soup so much, I eat it even in the summer in Texas. I usually freeze about half of it. My family has at least one meal off of the remaining soup, and I eat it for lunch every day until it’s gone! I hope that soon my vegetable soup becomes one of your family favorites.