I have always loved my mom’s homemade vegetable beef soup…so much so in fact, that when I had my son in September 1984, just days before my birthday and she asked me what I wanted for my birthday…can you guess where this is leading?…of course…I asked her to make me a batch of her homemade vegetable soup. I’m sure part of the desire for her soup was driven by my innate intelligence as a part of my body’s need to rebuild and repair after giving birth and the need for the nourishment that can come from a nutrient dense soup. A few years have passed since then but I still love the memories of her lovely vegetable beef soup. Recently I had the pleasure of having my mom stay with me for a few days and was blessed with the opportunity to nourish her before she underwent a medical procedure to break up a kidney stone…the weather had just turned chilly with a hint of fall in the air and the time proved right to prepare a big pot of vegetable beef soup…with a few minor changes. So what follows is my revised version of her recipe….
1 Tbsp grass-fed butter, tallow, lard, bacon grease or other fat
3# grass-fed beef stew meat, remove from package drain and pat dry with unbleached coffee filter paper
1 medium onion, quartered and coarsely chopped
1 Tbsp fresh thyme or 1 tsp. dried
2-3 frsh or dried bay leafs
2 c of fresh plum tomatoes, chopped or 1 18.3oz jar of jovial 100% organic whole peeled tomatoes (Whole Foods)
2 quarts of homemade beef or chicken stock
2 c chopped green cabbage
2-3 medium purple top turnips
4-5 carrots, sliced bite size
approximately 1/2 c fresh or frozen peas
2 stalks of celery
1 – 2 tsp. sea salt or more…
Brown the stew meat in tallow,lard, bacon grease or other fat of your choosing…personally I like the bacon grease option. After browning the meat remove to a platter, cut into bite size pieces and reserve.
If there is not much in the way of fat left in the bottom of the pan add an additional tablespoon of fat of your choice and heat for a few moments on medium high heat. Add the onion and saute for several minutes…sprinkle with lightly with a few pinches of sea salt…then saute until translucent. Add the cabbage, carrots and turnips…saute for several minutes then sprinkle with the thyme. Let saute for another couple of minutes then add the whole tomatoes… cutting them into smaller pieces. Add stew meat back into the soup pot cover all with stock of your choice… bring to a boil… then reduce to a simmer. After about an hour add peas, celery and sea salt to taste. Let cook for another 10 minutes or so then serve. If you are able to wait the flavor of this soup becomes even more delicious after a day or two of sitting in the refrigerator. I can’t keep this soup in the house longer than one day…when my husband, son and grandson eat this it is 3 and 4 bowls at a time…Enjoy!
