Beef Vegetable Soup and My Mother's Cooking

I may have mentioned that, while my mother was a good cook, she was not the least bit creative or adventurous.

For Sunday Dinner we either had chicken or beef roast, with the occasional pork roast thrown in, just to be different.  Each was fixed in it's own unique, delicious, but never changing way.  Ham and Turkey were the holiday foods.  Week nights were pork chops (2 ways), meat loaf (a choice of tomato soup or cream of mushroom on top), sausages (maybe with sauerkraut?), hot dishes (3, maybe 4 different ones), and a few seasonal items: hamburgers and sweet corn in summer; soup in winter.

She had a few cook books and a box of recipes that she had collected but these were mainly for desserts and baked goods.  One needed recipes for baking.  One did not need recipes for cooking.

My brother brought home a brace of squirrels once.  She stared at them for a few minutes then decided to 'fix them like chicken'.  They were, of course, wonderful: they tasted just like chicken!

When she stated that she was making soup no one asked what kind.  We all knew: it was soup!

She occasionally made bean soup, split pea soup and chili (hers was a soup, sorry Texans).  She even made potato soup once.  But these were all given their full names.  They were special, proper soups; requiring planning and a trip to the grocery store.  Our regular old generic soup didn't.

Since soup is the theme of Heart of the Matter this month, hosted by Joanna of Joanna's Food and it's been perfect soup weather here in the Vendee, I thought it was time to immortalize my family soup.

I even named it.

Beef Vegetable Soup.

Pretty original, huh?

I toyed with the idea of calling it Root Vegetable Soup with the idea of it being a more trendy moniker and all... But, it's winter, what other vegetables could be in it?

My first husband's mother made vegetable soup with a bag of frozen vegetables.  I was so appalled I've never really gotten over it!

My conditioning as to the proper vegetables for a hearty soup was/is so complete that I still have a hard time with corn or green beans or fresh peas in soup. 

They're not winter vegetables. Soup is made in the winter.  Ergo they do not/can not belong in soup.

It's really not that hard to grasp, people....just think about it.

Of course one needs some decent stock to make a decent soup.  And soup is supposed to be economical so I picked up a package of beef ribs on special.  I had over 6 pounds (3 kilos) of ribs which is too much meat for the soup but I'll find another use for it.  I did get great stock.

In order to get nice brown stock you need to brown the meat first. 

After browning on all sides, which took about 20 minutes, I added 2 litres of water, an onion, all of the tops from a bunch of celery, a few carrots, some bay leaves and a bouquet garni.   It simmered away, perfuming the house for about 6 hours in all. 

Then I refrigerated it overnight.  The next day I removed a thick layer of fat, and strained it into a clean pot.  Time to make the soup:

Vegetable Beef Soup  Beef Vegetable Soup

For 4 litres (quarts) of soup:

2 litres beef stock
4 - 5 carrots
2 onions
4 - 5 stalks celery
1 medium rutabaga
4 potatoes
1/2 of a large head of cabbage
1 cup of small whole wheat pasta (my mother used egg noodles)
2 cups of shredded beef, trimmed, from the beef used to make stock

Bring the stock to a good boil over medium high heat.  Chop/slice all of the vegetables, peeling where appropriate.  Add to the soup as you finish with each one.  When all of the vegetables are in bring it back to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes.  Add the pasta and beef and simmer 15 minutes longer.

Note:  The rutabaga is a key ingredient.  Without it the soup doesn't have nearly as much flavor and the sweet undertones are missing.

Let's see: no fat to speak of, no cheese, no cream, no salt, (you can salt it if you like)...This has got to be heart-healthy, right?  It's also heart and tummy warming, bursting with flavor and just a bit on the sweet side form all those yummy root vegetables.  Check out Joanna's Food after Jan. 24th for all of this months soups!

I just realized, other than for the stock, I didn't add any herbs... But, then, my mother wouldn't have... and it is winter...

Comments

[Laurie Constantino]

That soup looks warm and filling and good for whatever ails you. Your mom knew what she was doing! I've got to say those rib bones are amazingly meaty. You've definitely got a good butcher. Lucky you!

[michelle]

Katie, Wow this looks sooo good. I have to agree with your ideas about soup and winter vegetables - it makes perfect sense! I'm not such a big fan of summer soup myself, so I may just adopt it. I've also never tried putting a rutabaga in soup, so I'll have to try that. I may stay away from the squirrels however...

[MyKitchenInHalfCups]

Most excellent Katie! Soup should be what's in the house. But I do often have some green beans and so I do put them in soup from time to time. That that Rio Grande Valley being so close by.
And one must have good stock to have real soup.
Yes I've seen those bags of frozen veggies and always wondered 'Why would anybody do that."

[Deb]

You can tell we are from the same generation. We had the same food over and over again also. Mom had one cookbook, which she never referred to and also a tin of recipes cut out of the newspaper. Every Friday we had salmon patties or tomato soup with grilled cheese. The one thing that I did bring with me from her kitchen is her vegetable soup..just like yours, lots of fresh veggies and a hunk of what she called "soup meat"! Now I need some:D

[Lydia]

That's the kind of soup my grandmother used to make. My mother made a chicken version, which was equally delicious. There's nothing better in winter. One thing I'd probably add is thyme from the garden -- I've been known to go out in winter and dig for it under the snow cover.

[Michelle]

That looks wonderfully warm and satisfying...

[Nirmala]

This beef stew makes me want to be more "flexetarian" than vegetarian.

[Mike]

The soup looks great and I love the story behind it. I grew up on something of a schedule, too, e.g. friday was spaghetti night, maybe with meatballs or maybe with sausage. But I love it: soup means that specific soup!

[Heidi]

Ha! I feel like Nirmala right now. Yum.

Heidi

[Toni]

Perfect winter soup! And of course, it would HAVE to be root vegetables! I'm partial to parsnips, so I'd probably add them, too, and I've got some fresh thyme drying as I type, so even in winter I'd probably add some of that. This soup is proof that winter is a bountiful season, too!

[katie]

Laurie, I couldn't believe how much meat was on them! I thought I'd barely get enough for the soup and half went into the freezer!

Michelle, I like summer soups - but they're different, light and cold...not hearty and warming!

Tanna, well, her soup tasted like it, too. How nice to get green beans in the winter...

Deb. I'd forgotten! That's what my mother called the short ribs "soup meat". Thanks for the memory...

Lydia, it's so funny - I put herbs in everything now, but I never even thought of it for the soup.

Michelle, it is very tummy-warming!

Nirmala, it would probably be good without the beef - might be a little sweet...

Mike, Friday was tuna hot dish....sheesh! Spaghetti was Saturday!

Heidi, try it sans boeuf!

Toni, I tried substituting parsnips for the ruty, once. It just wasn't right. But, in addition to would be good!

[Helene]

What a heart warming soup, a super dish for frosty days. I love beetroot as you know!! :)

[Jann]

This looks so inviting....great photo of the veggies! Thanks for the tid-bit about the rutabaga...I imagine that would really give the soup that special kick! The store is coming along......slowly. Lots of time and effort, not enough $. Cheers!

[Kevin]

That beef soup looks really tasty and it is full of vegetables.

[gattina]

love the stories, and the steps of making the stock... btw, I was served a dish of squirrel meat when I was a little girl... well, we lived in city, this type of cooking was way too adventurous to me.

[Christine]

Love this post. And that soup! Wonderful! You've just reminded me that I've got to get my soup recipe posted for HOTM.

[bron]

Mmmm yum, looks heavenly Katie! Hubby and I love soups so much we eat them all through summer too, however our weather is so variable we can have 35 degrees C one day and then 5 the next. Bit like how a hot cuppa can still be refreshing hot day, so can a hot soup, especially Asian styled broths I find.
Lovely post!

[Amanda]

Great soup! I think it's much easier getting those wonderful ingredients to make a good stock where you are.

I checked out your website for the first time the other day = excellent! I'd like to do a post about it if that's okay?

Oh and my M.I.L. did that too, frozen veg, stock cube, boiling water...

[katie]

Helene, we have getting our share of gray, damp days, here, too!

Thanks, Jann. A lot of people don't give ruty's a fair chance... $ true about so many things!

Kevin, it gives you more than your daily allowance ;-)

Gattina, I don't have to worry here, All the squirrels were eaten in the last war!

Christine, I love soup of all kind - I'll look for yours

Bron, I'm afraid I've never solved the riddlle of the hot cuppa on a hot day... my British friends swear by it but... Our summer soups are usually cool or room temp.

Absolutely Amanda, thanks!
Yeah, I couldn't understand how she could call it 'soup'

[núria]

Wonderful soup Katie! I love all kind of soups! When I was a kid we never knew what would be on the table that day... and is the same at my house now, I like improvising! But since I have the blog, I'm getting more organized, of course ;-)

[Shayne]

My mom was like this too she made only a few things and she was really good at making those things and everyone thought she was the greatest cook, little did they know.

[Peter]

Katie, just from looking at those short ribs, I know the soup rocked!

[katie]

Nuria, I love cooking different things! I once went an entire year without repeating anything (well, almost). My mother was just never that interested in it..but she loved to bake.

Shayne, people always talk about my mother's chicken! It was good...just always the same hahaha.

Peter, those short ribs were wonderful! Mon mari nabbed the ones I didn't use in the soup and has been making wonderful sanwiches!