Vegetable Soup--A Simple Pleasure

A few years ago, I received a copy of Real Simple Meals Made Easy for Christmas. Isn't the cover so beautiful? I'm a huge fan of Real Simple magazine, and cookbook doesn't disappoint! I admit, I wanted it mainly for it's food porn (that's cook talk for pretty food pictures that are quite desirable!).

I'm in full blown soup mode.

This version is slightly altered from the original.

Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

• EVOO






• 1 large yellow onion, chopped






• 1/2 a bag of frozen, sliced carrots






• 1/2 a bag of frozen, broccoli






• 3 14.5 oz cans of low-sodium chicken broth






• 1/2 lb of potatoes cut into 1 inch chunks






• thyme






• sea salt






• 1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes






• 1/2 bag of frozen, cut green beans






• Parmesan cheese for topping

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a non-stick, large saucepan (I use my soup pot) and cook the onion until soft, using the EVOO.






2. Add the broth, 1 cup of water, the potatoes, thyme, and salt (seasonings to taste). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover partially, and simmer for 15 minutes.






3. Add the tomatoes, carrots, green beans, broccoli. Return to a boil and simmer, cooking until the veggies are tender---about 5 to 10 minutes.






4. Ladle soup into bowls, sprinkle with cheese, and serve with bread.

Soup freezes so well, so I never mind taking the time to make up a big pot.

Also, using frozen veggies is the way to go in my opinion. The original recipe called for fresh, but keep a few things in mind when considering substituting frozen for fresh. First, fresh is often not fresh. The produce has sat on a truck for a day or two in God knows what sort of conditions and temperatures. By the time you buy it, get it home, and then actually use it (which could be days after you purchase it), it's old, it's discolored, it's not what you want.

Second, fresh costs more! My grocery store now sells Wild Harvest, an organic product line that includes frozen fruits and veggies at a fraction of the cost of fresh.

Third, frozen is fresher than "fresh." Frozen veggies and fruits are harvested at their peak and immediately frozen.

Finally, who has time to always cut examine, wash, cut, and prepare fresh veggies? Personally, I'm preparing for my lifetime of motherhood and as a person who has provided care for children for as long as I can remember (staring at three when I decided I would be my new baby sister's little mommy), I get that parenthood takes time, lots and lots and lots of time. So if I'm going to give my kids the healthy foods that I know they need, I've got to be realistic in my food prep practices.