Some travelers come to a village carrying nothing more than an empty pot. Upon their arrival, the villagers are unwilling to share any of their food stores with the hungry travelers. The travelers fill the pot with water, drop a large stone in it, and place it over a fire in the village square. One of the villagers becomes curious and asks what they are doing. The travelers answer that they are making "stone soup", which tastes wonderful, although it still needs a little bit of garnish to improve the flavor, which they are missing. The villager doesn't mind parting with a carrot to help them out, so it gets added to the soup. Another villager walks by, inquiring about the pot, and the travelers again mention their stone soup which hasn't reached its full potential yet. The villager hands them a little bit of seasoning to help them out. More and more villagers walk by, each adding another ingredient. Finally, a delicious and nourishing pot of soup is enjoyed by all. This is a Spring Harvest Stone Soup for Georgia
6 early Vidalia Onions
chopped 2 cloves of garlic
minced 1 cup of shitake mushrooms
sliced 1 cup of sliced carrots into rounds
1 cup of cubed sweet potatoes
1 cup of cubed turnips
2 cups of greens (kale, spinach, mustard and/or collards) torn into bite size pieces
2 (14 oz.) cans of Italian plum tomatoes
2 to 3 cups of water
¼ cup of cider vinegar
1 T of salt
1 tsp. basil, thyme or sage (or whatever combination you have in your kitchen garden)
1 tsp. oregano
1/4 c. chopped parsley
Method
- Sauté the first three ingredients until they are translucent or for 5 to 7 minutes on medium heat. Stir so the garlic doesn’t brown.
- Add the water, canned tomatoes, vinegar, carrots, sweet potatoes and turnips and cook for 15 or 20 minutes until the solid vegetables are soft but not falling apart.
- Add the greens and the spices. Adjust seasonings to your liking and feel free to change around the vegetables according to what you have around.
- Now share some with a friend and enjoy.
