Vegetable Soup

Sis and Bro-in-law are in town for a couple of days between the honeymoon and Sis having to go to Pakistan on a posting for 3 months.  Honestly!  Sudan then Baghdad then Pakistan?  Do her bosses hate her?  Anyway, we had a family meal with Mom and Dad and the newlyweds and Kiddo last night.

It was the day to pick up veggies from Farmer Fred and I wasn't feeling super-well, so decided to make Vegetable Soup.  I've been doing that very frequently with the farm veggies, and have more than one friend extolling the healing powers of the soup.  This is more about technique, and of course you can use whatever vegetables you have around.  It's never quite the same, except for the initial part with the olive oil, onions and tomatoes.  In fact, you could probably just up the number of tomatoes and have a lovely basic soup with just that and the broth.

OK, even though I've described what to do with each of the ingredients in the ingredient list, the idea is that you do your chopping during the cooking.  No need to prep all ahead.

Basics:

1 onion, roughly chopped

2 T olive oil

4 medium tomatoes (1 lb) cored and sliced

64 oz. vegetable broth (I like Pacific brand organics)

Smooth ingredients:

1 small eggplant, peeled and thinly sliced

3/4 lb sweet peppers, seeded and roughly chopped

1-2 small hot peppers, seeded and roughly chopped

Chunky ingredients:

1/2 lb green beans, ends trimmed and cut to roughly 2 inches apiece

1 lb potatoes, scrubbed and diced into very small cubes

sink-full of greens (turnip greens and bok choi, last night), well washed and chopped coursely

Salt and pepper

Parmesan cheese for serving

1. Heat the olive oil in a very large stockpot on medium heat
2. As the oil is heating, chop the onions, then add them to the oil
3. As the onions are cooking to translucent, core and slice the tomatoes, then add them plus any juices
4. Add the other "smooth" ingredients as you get them ready (but not the broth!), stirring occasionally
5. When they've cooked down fairly well, add the broth and then use some method to blend all the "smooth" ingredients.  I have a blender wand, which is the easiest thing to do, OR you could hassle with a food processor or blender.
6. Now start adding the chunky ingredients as you get them ready, potatoes first and greens (if you are using them) last.
7. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook until the potatoes are done.
8. Taste, add salt and pepper (or allow guests to add their own)
9. Serve with crusty bread, some nice cheese and parmesan in a grater to pass around.  This amount easily served six adults with double portions and had leftovers as well.  And we were all satisfied...even though it's a one-dish meal.