soup is in the air

i mean fall, and rain, so soup is in the kitchen!

mema's vegetable soup actually:

start with a good pot, a small amount of oil, and a couple of cloves of garlic

(by the way as a note, i had the regular seasonings every time i add something new to the pot: salt, peper, red peper, garlic and onion powder)

then a small onion

meanwhile, puree a bunch of tomatoes in the food processor, i think i used six medium ones

back to to the pot,  after the onion begins to cook down add about a tablespoon of tomato paste, and one of spicy mustard, continue to saute for another minute and then add about a teaspoon or two of worcestershire sauce and cook until you have some good brown bits on the bottom

then add the pureed tomatoes and cook for a minute to mix it all together. next, pull out my favorite tool, the immersion blender and give it a whirl. 

so it looks something like this

then add some veggies, you can use fresh or frozen, whichever you have, i threw in a mixed veggie bag plus lima beans and okra. Also, add some veggie stock, about a carton.

let simmer for about twenty minutes.  

I cook mine in advance to freeze so I have it on hand for cold nights and then add some small elbow pasta to it when i'm heating it back up.

stay warm!

xoxo