Hot Clean Soup on a Cold Southern Day

Okay, Okay.  Before you go telling me I don't know cold, I grew up in Western PA where is it is always gray and cold, and rainy.  I have been to Alaska..... in DECEMBER where it is dark and freezing.  My blood may have thinned since moving to south Florida, but 53 degrees in a coastal town is COLD!

And when you have a preschooler home from school with pink eye (and now a super sanitized house.. moms of the world get this) all I can think about is some nice, hot, homemade soup! 

Now soup and I go way back.  I LOVE soup.  I mean, it is a meal in a bowl.  And when you prepare it yourself at home, you can guarantee you are getting the best nutrients to fuel your body in this humble little hot bowl.  I will eat any kind of soup you put in front of me.  The problem with this is when I think about making soup, I want to make ALL soups.  I never know where to draw the line and say "NO you can only make one kind of soup today Joslin!"  I opened my refrigerator and noticed quite a few vegetables that were on the verge of spoiling and knew what to do. 

I present you the crazy good for you, everything but the kitchen sink, vegetable soup!  In true Italian fashion, I do not measure anything. But the great thing about soup is you can make it your own.  Here is what I used in today's soup:

-3 cups of frozen chicken broth (homemade)
-3 cups of water
-1 very large (and in charge) vidalia onion, chopped
-many teeny tiny sweet peppers (because I used ALL of my regular sized peppers to make chili...yesterday.  I told you I have a soup problem)
-4 large organic carrots, peeled and chopped
-three handfuls of green beans, chopped
-2 zucchini's, chopped
-1 whole head of celery, leaves and all, chopped
-1 head of green cabbage, chopped
-half of a bag of kale salad mix I had left over
-1 cup of prepared barley
-1 can of great northern beans, drained and rinsed
-2 bay leaves
-couple dashes of basil and oregano

Now I have to warn you, make sure you have a LARGE stock pot to make this in.  I may have overdone it in the veggie department........ hahaha who am I kidding, you can never overdo it in the veggie department!!  And get ready for these really hard, super complicated instructions....

1.  Put broth and water in the pot

2.  Cut up all the veggies

3.  Add all ingredients to the pot, except barley and beans (they get added in later)
4.  Bring to a boil and simmer until veggies are tender
5.  Add northern beans

6.  Get a bowl

7.  Add a spoonful of barley to the bowl and top with soup

8.  Put soup in your mouth, and try not to burn yourself!

I typically don't add salt to my cooking, but if you must, add some sea salt to taste. 
This soup was so wholesome and delicious, that I am going to eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next week!!  This soup is jam packed with vitamins and minerals and essential nutrients for any HUMAN being out there.  You don't have to be a "clean eater" or a fitness person to get all of the benefits that this soup offers. 

......now if it could only cure a cranky four year old!





*Side note - I wasn't able to fit all my veggies in my small stock pot so I put the leftovers in a gallon baggie and put them in the freezer.  I am thinking a stir fry next week is in order :)

Thanks for reading!!  ~Joslin