A Trick with Veggies

There once was a girl a bit older than another girl, who taught the younger girl how to respect vegetables. Here's how it went...

The older girl and the younger girl liked being with each other so much that they decided to live together, which meant that they shared a kitchen. The older girl was much wiser with ways of living in harmony with nature and respecting the natural rhythms of her body in sync with the planet. The younger girl was like a sponge for this information and these experiences. It seemed she had somehow missed the teachings of a kitchen sage growing up. She was thrilled to bike to the farmer's market twice a week with the older girl to load their baskets with colorful things that the growers were proud to share and tell about. All those colorful greens, reds, oranges, purples, and blues looked nothing like the canned and frozen mush she had called vegetables in her previous life.

Back in their kitchen, each collection of colors resulted in an hour or so of giggling, tasting, smelling, washing, drying, and storing of the bounty. The older girl made the kitchen a party at meal preparation time by turning on great music, pouring a glass of wine to share, lighting a candle if dark, and putting all the perishable veggies out on the bar to collaborate on what needs to be eaten or cooked next.  Nothing went to waste. Much could be eaten raw,  just added to each mealtime plate. Much could be lightly steamed or tossed into a hot oily skillet for a few minutes and added to starches or proteins for deeply satisfying meals.

But sometimes, there were leftover vegetables that seemed lifeless or there were veggies that had wilted and become boring. These turned out the be the easiest to save by making soup! Years and years later, the younger girl who is now older than the older girl had been still makes a party in the kitchen, still savors the colors and freshness of local veggies, and still is amazed at how easy and yummy it is to save the almost-perished veggies from waste by making soup.

Thank you to every older girl out there who passes down useful, resourceful, sensual, savory, nourishing rituals and wisdom to younger girls. This is an ancient love offering - woman to woman - in the kitchen.

So tonight's soup is an example that can be adapted to almost any combination of veggies that need to be saved and savored:

Ingredients:

• broccoli
• sweet potato
• onion
• garlic
• celery
• carrot
• water
• butter (real, whole, clean)
• salt (always the good stuff)
• herbs (thyme, oregano, rosemary, cinnamon)

Method: 

1. chop any veggies (except lettuce), always including a potato for starch to smooth and thicken the texture, in put in either a crockpot or stovetop cookpot with enough water to cover
2. low boil carelessly, letting all the veggies turn to mush
3. transfer lumpy, mushy wet mixture to blender and add any spices or herbs for flavor
4. transfer creamy mixture back to pot and simmer on low, adding butter (or other source of creamy fat/oil), any type of milk if you like, and salt/pepper to taste
5. Serve when it tastes good!

Here's the thing...don't worry about the amounts or times. Instead use your senses and play with variations. You can't screw it up, as long as you are paying attention to taste and texture as you go. If at any point you are not pleased with either, you can correct it. For example, if the texture isn't smooth or creamy enough, blend more or add more creamy stuff (starch, milk, oil). If the flavor isn't doing it for you because maybe you over salted or made too spicy, add a sweet flavor like cinnamon or even sugar (as always, from a source you are proud of). 

Voila! Cream of Vegetable Soup. 

Next up - the simplicity of the wok.